Dissonance
by Prestige Productions
Summary: Nobody stays exactly the same throughout the course of their lives: Good friends can become bitter enemies, lovers can become hate spewing jackals, and a place one once considered "home" can suddenly become a never-ending nightmare. Rated T for now, may go M in future *ON INDEFINITE HIATUS*
1. Who Am I Really?

_**Well, not much to say here. I'm back with something strange.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, who even without the wisdom of Monty Oum continue to stride forth with the continuation of one of his finest creations (Massive apologies to fans of Dead Fantasy and Red vs. Blue)  
Bálor Moonlight is my creation, and yes I still have some level of pride in that fact (Just nowhere near as much as when I started this journey half a year ago.)**_

Bálor Moonlight had only been at Beacon Academy only less then half a year and he had already managed to make something of a notorious reputation for himself: A school-wide annoyance for his over-the-top adoration for professional wrestling, but the fact that he had managed to turn the once-cohesive Team RWBY into four individuals who were less than amicable with one another. And while this fragmentation had slowly begun to mend following his return to Beacon following their trip to her dearly-departed mother's grave, unfortunately the Academy he had returned to since then had a much more focused vibe to it thanks to the upcoming Vytal Festival.

 _"Man, I hate the fact the only people probably willing to work with me are the same scum who sold me out back in Vacuo."_ The wolf Faunus would sigh in annoyance as Professor Port prattled on with yet another long-winded story from his youth; in the past he would've gladly allowed himself time to sleep and dream of a happy future with a certain blonde-haired brawler, but as he looked down to see the members of Team RWBY laughing and conversing amongst themselves. _"It's good that they're finally getting back to their old selves."_ Bálor allowed himself a small smile as he leaned back in his seat, but that would quickly die out once he felt a familiar pair of lilac eyes glaring up at him. _"Although it appears that I'm pretty much public enemy number one now."_ The silver-haired Huntsman would shudder upon coming home to a wrecked dorm room, no doubt done by his now ex-girlfriend in retaliation for his current dealings with fellow team member (and little sister) Ruby Rose. _"That's fine Yang..Hunt me down if you think it'll make you feel better."_ He would stare down at the diagram of his final weapon idea: a broadsword with a serrated edge, with the capability to transform into a semi-automatic rifle, and also into a rather heavy chain whip. "But if that's going to be the case, then I'll make damn sure you won't get an easy kill!" The bell would signal the end of their class giving him some respite from the one-time object of his affection as he made his way down the aisle way, slowing down as he heard the nefarious chuckling of a certain knuckleheaded racist. "Not again…" The wolf would casually hop over the outstretched foot of one Cardin Winchester and look back at him with a look of boredom, before continuing his jog toward the exit.

"Bálor, wait up!" He would stop with a quiet sigh as the voice of a certain cookie-loving crimsonette raced to his side, a happy smile upon her face as she did so. "So how's progress going on the you-know-what?" Ruby would try to reach for his sketch pad, only for the taller young man to hold it high above his head and well out of her reach.

"It's almost ready, and I appreciate your help with the finer mechanics of switching forms, I honestly don't think I could've completed this project without you Little Rose." He would grin even as the girl beside him blushed slightly under his words of praise. "D'awww, c'mon it wasn't that much of difference."

Bálor would chuckle at her continued exuberance, at least until the remaining members of the team decided to show up with varying levels of indifference toward him.

 _"Ahh crap baskets, here we go with the awkward small talk."_ He would smile politely as the others stared right through him, the varying levels of hate they held toward him for previous events: Weiss had good reason to bring him down due to Ruby's continuing involvement with him, it's not like he was trying to woo her or anything. The wolf had been a complete wrestle maniac, and the goofiness of it all had managed to draw her into a weird pseudo-relationship that constantly teetered on the brink between friendship and romance. The heiress had even gone as far as to hire an assassin to have him killed, and while she had nearly succeeded in doing so it was the intervention of the very girl whose heart she craved who had helped to bring down the plan.

"Well Miss Schnee, I dare say that you look rather elegant in that uniform." He would do his best to not lose his cool even as the heir to the Schnee Dust Company snorted at his compliment.

"Still trying to play the sympathetic idiot aren't you mutt, don't you understand that there are bigger things on the horizon then your petty comings and goings?" Blake Belladonna, the usually more stoic member of the team had a particularly strong hatred towards him due to the fact that in her eyes Bálor was simply using his tragic past to gain sympathy points with the rest of the Academy.

"Yeah yeah, the Vytal Festival is coming and from what I can guess Team RWBY is the odds on favorite to sweep the whole damn thing." He would crack his knuckles in irritation as the cat Faunus hissed in annoyance at his continued indignation, despite the months that had passed since their last big clash outside the infirmary neither Faunus had gotten a chance to settle the score properly.

"C'mon guys, can't we at least end one class without you two threatening to beat the crap out of one another?" Ruby would frown as she moved to stand between the tensed up cat and wolf, on the one hand she had a responsibility as the leader of Team RWBY to keep her fellow team member out of trouble. But there was also the fact that Bálor was a good friend and ally, and Ruby often did whatever it took to look out for her friends. She did it for members of Team JNPR, she did it for Team SSSN, she even did it for her android friend Penny, but it was increasingly harder to do it for someone who was currently trying to instigate a fight.

"Of course we can't sis, he's a hothead who constantly feels the need to prove himself for some insane reason." Yang would finally speak up as her lilac eyes met his amber ones, this would cause the silver-haired Huntsman to back up a step which only caused the brawler to grin as she took a step forward. "What's the matter B, it's only me..the girl you left behind!"

Bálor hated that grin, it was a clear sign that Yang knew she still had sway over him and that despite his bullheaded bravado he would never throw a punch against her. Because deep down inside he still held strong feelings for the woman, it was the reason he had never let things with Ruby go further after they had returned from their trip despite the secrets he had divulged to the red hood. It was why he was still living in the ruins of what used to be his dorm room instead of going to Ozpin for any sort of aid, relying on his savings to buy a less-wrestling oriented wardrobe and the bare minimum in terms of furnishings.

"Geez you're so easy to spook lately." Yang would wink and ruffle his silver hair playfully before backing off. "Not sure your precious Bullet Club would approve of you backing down to little 'ol me." She would gesture to the others to head out, blissfully unaware of the thin sheen of sweat lining his forehead as they left.

"I don't care what those bastards think, all I ever wanted was for you to love me for who I was..I figured that if I kept being that cocky punk that got your attention in the first place would be enough to keep your heart, but I should've known better than that." He would mutter this to himself as he clutched his sketchbook tightly as he began the trek down to the weapons forge, memories of his time with Yang playing in his mind with each passing step. _"In all honesty it was probably my fault for losing my cool so soon after I got back."_

He was steamed.

The fact that she had trashed his room was one thing he could easily forgive, belongings were something that could be easily replaced as all it took was money and thanks to his careful squirreling away of funds pre-incarceration he had a nice nest egg in which to fund any and all future projects for the next four years. But it was the comment that she had left on his mirror that had really caused the wolf to lose his shit, Bálor Moonlight was a lot of things to the folks of Beacon Academy: Friend, enemy, annoyance, problem student, and general all-around pain in the ass. But he was NOT a backstabber.

"Hey, blondie!" He was seething as approached the members of Team RWBY from the dining hall, watching as their young leader was preparing to wave him over before noticing his white hot fury and frowning as her sister simply rolled her eyes. "Yeah I'm talking to you Xiao Long, you must really think it's fucking funny to just go into another person's dorm room and wreck things up like some crazy top-heavy elephant!"

Ruby would immediately facepalm knowing that insulting her sister's looks in any way was the surefire way to get the stuffing stomped out of them, and sure enough the sounds of a brawler leaping from her seat would be heard as the two former lovers approached one another before going nose to nose.

"You must really wanna get your face broken if you think I'll let you get away with that Bálor." She would shove him back a step, not surprised to see the angry Faunus fire up and clench his fists. "Remember, I'm not your girlfriend anymore so I'm not about hold back if it comes to the two of us throwing down!" What did surprise her though was the fact that he was now wearing the Academy uniform, on some small level she did find that it accentuated and brought out the blazing amber of his eyes and if circumstances were different between the two of them then she would've dropped some saucy joke about peeling him out of the uniform later that day.

But by deciding to leave with Ruby on that little trip to Summer's grave last month Bálor had cemented which sister he preferred to be around, and after having been spurned by him on several different occasions through his acts of cowardice Yang Xiao Long had had enough of his stupid little games.

"You wanna throw down Yang then don't keep me waiting baby." Bálor would snarl and raise his fists with a cheeky grin, only to see her roll her eyes once more in disgust.

"Geez, Ruby control your boyfriend before I decide to knock him on his stupid ass." Yang would begin to saunter off, pausing to look back as the young crimsonette tried her best to placate the hot-blooded Faunus with the barest hint of pity in her eyes.

"I hate you!" He would shout out even as Ruby tried her best to keep him from causing any more trouble at the moment. "I hate you for all the bullshit you put me through: Claiming that I should open up more, and that everyone here is a family!" Around him things would begin to clatter and shake violently in response to his pent up rage toward the brawler, the remaining members of Team RWBY would stand up to meet his challenge only for Yang to wave them off as she stepped forward and clocked the daylights out of Bálor with a wicked left hook.

"We ARE a family, and that means sometimes having to beat some sense into our whinier members!" The blonde-haired Huntress would look down upon her once precious wolf with a look of disgust, it was if he had not only lost his passion for fighting but also his own sanity. "I meant what I said in that we all look out for one another here, whether it's on the battlefield fighting the Grimm or in the halls of this academy dealing with assholes like Cardin."

Bálor would simply growl and slowly climb to his feet, feeling a stinging pain on his cheek as he looked at the woman who had previously went to Hell and back just to get his heart no more than a few months prior to this moment. Yang's eyes would narrow as she anticipated his anger-fueled attack and grabbed his fist without much challenge, applying pressure to it until his face began contorting in agony even though he refused to scream outright. "Stop, there's no way you could hope to even touch me in the pathetic state you're in." She would pull him closer even as her sister watched on, her silver eyes widening in anticipation of whatever damage she was preparing to deliver to him. _"Oh Ruby, you still don't understand the deep depths to a person's darkness. Even if he's told you his darkest secrets and left no stone unturned..there's always truth in a person's actions."_

However that momentary lapse in attention was all the irate wolf needed to strike the brawler with his free hand, she could feel the full force of his weight in the blow.

And smile as her lilac eyes flashed red, her Semblance flaring to life before dragging him to his feet and bitch slapping him back to the ground. "You say you hate me, and THAT'S all the strength you can put forward against me!"

The wolf would snarl as he tried to rise to his feet once again in another attempt to get some measure of revenge for what she had done to his dorm room and more importantly his heart, only this time he could feel someone holding him down as Ruby would be doing everything she could to keep her friend from fighting any further.

"Yes, I despise you Yang Xiao Long!" He tried once again to shake himself free from the red reaper's surprisingly firm grasp on his arm, if it were anyone else he would have already flung them aside with his own Semblance. But Ruby Rose had always been nothing short of a patient little good egg with him, and he had no reason to use such violent methods against her.

"That's quite enough!" The voice of a rather stressed Glynda Goodwitch would pierce the tension permeating through the dining hall as she approached the embattled trio before her, sighing as she took note of a familiar silver-haired menace at the center of it all. "Why am I not surprised to see you here Moonlight, another one of your flashy gimmicks gone wrong again I presume?" The older Huntress would sigh as she levitated him to his feet, earning a squeak of surprise from a startled Ruby who had been holding him down from fighting up to that point. "Well, speak up now!"

Bálor would sigh and shake his head in defeat as he felt Yang's heated glare burning a metaphorical hole in the back of his head, and as much as he wanted to whirl around and pounce on the blonde that would only cause Goodwitch to flatten him to the ground before he could even twitch.

"No professor, no gimmicks this time..just itching for a fight I suppose." He would smirk even as the older woman shook her head in contempt at his latest outburst. "I think it's about time for another one of your periodic counseling sessions with professor Ozpin, and so help me Dust if you refuse!" She would point her riding crop menacingly at the young man's chin before turning on her heel and walking out of the dining hall with a sour faced Bálor following slowly behind her. He would pause to look back at the sisters with a ghost of a smirk, Ruby had a small frown building on her face as if she were seeing him being marched off to the gallows while Yang kept her own expression calm and collected despite the words of hatred he had previously lobbed her way.

Back in the present Bálor would find himself staring down at the blueprints for the weapon he and Ruby had created together and frowned deeply, he had created it specifically to go back into the field and fight the Grimm like a good little Huntsman. Sure he didn't have a team to call his own, and the closest thing he had to a true friend was a cookie-loving, weapon obsessed speedster. But at the end of the day he was alone, in a place where his very existence had become an annoyance to most and a running joke to others.

 _"All I ever wanted out of this little project as an Academy student was to be able to hunt the freaking Grimm and just be left to my own devices."_ He shook his head as he calmly folded the diagram and placed it into his pocket as he walked deep into the dark pits of the Weapons Forge. "But somewhere along the way I got lost and caught up into trying to become something that I wasn't." He took a deep breath as he kept moving forward as the events of his first months as a student, all the bizarre meetings with different students that he had gone through and the insanity that became the beginnings of his relationship with all four members of Team RWBY.

 _"I'm no student, no Huntsman…hell I'm not even Human!"_ The wolf's trek would continue as the downfall of his relationship with Yang would start to run through his mind, it wasn't so much that the gimmicks went too damn far.

It's that he didn't know when to turn off the hero worship and become a normal teenage male who had the walking epitome of a blonde bombshell as his girlfriend, fandom was all well and good but at the end of the day he had zero intention of stepping into the squared circle and wrestling a five star classic with an A.J. Styles, or engaging in some crazy knuckle bruising brawl with Jay Briscoe.

 _"I want to destroy the Grimm, not to save the world or establish myself as some sort of hero."_ Bálor would stop to reflect on the fact that such thoughts were the exact aspirations of his little Rose, and for a moment he felt himself hesitate in the icy resolve that he had been building to this point. "I want to destroy them because that's ALL I'M GOOD FOR!" He would slam his hand against the wall of the stairway angrily, wincing at the sudden surge of pain that ran through him as he did. "And when that's all said and done I'll finally be the one thing every hero needs in their story."

The light of the molten pits of the weapons forge would welcome his presence like a loved one welcoming a soldier home from the war abroad, he felt an idea bubbling in the depths of his mind and smiled quietly to himself.

Yang Xiao Long would sigh in frustration as she continued her training in the solitude of an empty amphitheatre, something she often did when her mind was troubled and she didn't feel like burdening her friends and sister with whatever issue was at hand.

 _"What's going on with me lately, things have finally calmed down for us now that the Vytal Festival is approaching."_ She would launching into a simple combination of punches and forearms, imaging Junior's henchmen once again falling at her feet with little effort. _"But every time I see him, it's as if I start turning back into that stupid mushy version of myself!"_ The blonde brawler would shudder as she remembered the girly sashaying she did while holding a satin dress, how she cried over his comatose form even as his bond with Ruby was becoming an obstacle to her own romantic aspirations, and even the time she took to forge the gauntlets she was now using: her Howling Dragons.

"But that's all in the past, because now I have somebody who finally gets my flow and what I want to do with my life." Yang would smirk, feeling his eyes watching her movements from the shadows and felt somewhat at ease knowing that someone new was watching over her now.

"I'm not some stupid tween-romance cliché!" She would connect with a vicious spin kick to the emptiness before her, although she imagined that the wolf had felt the blow in some sort of paranormal ass-backward way. "I'll show you that I shine far brighter without you then even you thought possible!"

 ** _See, right around here is where I usually try to shill my other works, or justify what I do with the characters as some sort of long-term angle that'll be booked to something awesome later on_**

 ** _Truth be told: There is NO GRAND PLAN, I write from whatever emotion I'm feeling_**

 ** _Bored: Everyday Life  
Sad: A moment in time  
Suicidal: One Bad Day  
Happy: yeah, no..none of that here_**

 ** _I'm not sure how to classify this one yet, but rest assured it'll cover the events of Volume 3 thus far._**

 ** _Thermometer fans stay tuned: Next chapter will be something you might enjoy._**


	2. Thermometer check

_**Man, this chapter was a bear to write. From a source material standpoint there are 12 fics on the RWBY side of things that feature Yang and Mercury as featured characters (including this one!) Thermometer fans, I gave it my best shot.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Rooster Teeth owns RWBY and while I haven't exactly gotten into the events involving Volume 3, rest assured that it's coming, Bálor Moonlight belongs to me (for better or worse)**_

The Vytal Festival was pressing closer with each passing day with the students and staff of Beacon Academy gearing up with last minute preparations, be in battle formations, security, or even wardrobe. But for Yang, it was a simple issue of waiting for the fighting to start.

 _"Less than a week to go and I'm going nuts here!"_ The blonde brawler was indeed feeling very pent up as of late, even with her solo training in the amphitheater it still was no substitute for an actual fight. But with every other student either planning strategy with their fellow teammates, or planning the best way to maximize their day in between rounds for those who weren't competing, this left Yang in a very noticeable lurch as she looked around for someone to at least consider as her sparring partner. Her eyes instantly locked onto the silver-haired Mercury Black and felt herself give a small smile as he gave her a two-fingered salute in return, they had been flirting with one another for a bit of time now and Yang genuinely liked the guy.

Not that she would say it to his face of course.

 _"What is it with me and guys with silver-hair? First that idiot, now Mercury."_ She would furrow her brow in thought at the similarities between the two men in her life: both were obnoxious flirts, confident in their own fighting abilities, and generally kept to themselves unless being cajoled into doing something by an outside party.

 _"At least Merc knows where his bread's being buttered, unlike a certain someone."_ Yang would shake her head once more as thoughts of the wolf Faunus started to seep in before slamming her palm down on the dining hall table that Team RWBY was sitting at, startling the rest of the team out of whatever strategy they were discussing with one another.

"You okay sis?" Ruby would look over at the lilac eyed woman curiously, it wasn't uncommon for the brawler to go off when something was bothering her. "Are you not happy with the idea of who represents the team when we get past this first round?" The crimsonette would frown when she didn't get an immediate response, instead noticing as she followed her line of sight to see a certain wolf holding a bag from Schnee Subs while collecting a few oranges and something to drink.

 _"Of course she would react that way, those two still have yet to actually sit down and talk with one another."_ The red hood would wave to the young man exuberantly in an attempt to get his attention, only to be ignored as he left the dining hall to continue whatever it was he had been doing with his day.

"So it's decided then, in the event that we progress past the first round then Team RWBY will be represented in the Doubles Round by myself and Yang." Weiss would say this with an air of satisfaction as Ruby was brought back to reality by this statement, her mouth agape as even Blake seemed on board with the plan.

"Wha- wait a minute! Why can't I be the one to represent us in the Doubles Round, I've spent the same amount of time training and studying as you guys have!" Ruby would frown slightly, feeling left out of the running even as she had clearly proven herself a good leader. "I've been on the front lines with all of you throughout this whole thing with the White Fang so what's the deal?"

The other girls would turn to Blake to serve as their voice of reason, a position that the cat Faunus didn't exactly relish as it often meant being the one to deliver bad news to their leader.

"Ruby, it's not that we don't see you as a competent combatant, you'd do great in these matches that much I know from watching you over all this time." Blake would bite her lip as she saw Ruby's expression grow somewhat disheartened by the beginnings of her speech. "We just think that if you were to be separated from Crescent Rose during a one-on-one fight- which is totally possible by the way! We just don't think you're up to the challenge of a one on one fight…yet." The raven-haired Huntress would sigh and nod her head, seemingly satisfied with her answer. Ruby however would drum her fingertips along the table with a sour look on her face as she looked upon her Faunus team mate.

"That's..not really what you wanted to say, was it Blake?"

The yellow-eyed Faunus would pout as she shook her head plainly before laying her head down on the table. "Truth be told, we had the vote while you were distracted by trying to get the mutt's attention." Ruby would sigh and stare up on the ceiling before looking at her team once again.

"I want a recount."

Ruby's cry of anguish would be heard throughout the dining hall as the vote was repeated again with a similar outcome, causing Mercury and Emerald to wince as they sat at the far southern end of the dining hall.

"I hate this, I hate this so much." Emerald would rake her fingers through her hair in frustration as she looked back as the members of Team RWBY began to talk and converse along normal lines. "Can't we just execute the damn plan already and get out of here, there's so much I'd rather be doing with my life other than playing schoolgirl in this dithering hellhole." The tan-skinned woman would look around feeling nothing short of disdain as Mercury both mentally and physically face palmed at his partner's behavior, while letting his eyes wander over to the blonde bombshell of team with a smug smile as he gave a wink in her direction.

"I dunno, I think we've actually got it pretty good here: Decent food, easy to run through classes, a weekly chance to beat the living daylights out of someone-" Emerald would roll her eyes in disgust as she mumbled under her breath.

"A blonde bimbo you can screw whenever you feel like it."

Mercury would shake his head with a groan as she retaliated by sticking out her tongue mischievously. "Trust me when I say that we haven't crossed that bridge yet, and it's not for a lack of trying either!" He would say this quickly as the green-haired woman began to laugh at his dilemma, Mercury would growl as he recounted one instance of his time together with the brawler.

It started like any of their dates together the two of them would meet somewhere in the city of Vale, mostly because there was always a better chance at privacy outside of Beacon's walls due to the absence of their respective teammates and one rather nosy Glynda Goodwitch. That day's meeting place was outside of the multiplex as they had settled on attending the old school kung-fu movie madness marathon as a quick way to kill a few hours of their day. (And making fun of the God awful dubbing that came with them)

"Geez, I'm the first one here again..as usual." Mercury would mumble to himself as he paced outside the doors, stopping once he heard the familiar roar of a motorcycle coming his way as Yang's Bumblebee came to a complete stop in the nearby parking lot as the blonde-maned Huntress removed her helmet with a cocky smile in his direction.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic was a bitch and I couldn't exactly get out of class as fast as I wanted to thanks to Weiss reading Ruby the riot act over not paying attention in Port's class again." She would sigh in frustration as she stored the yellow helmet into a backend compartment and joining him at the entrance with a tired smile as she patted him on the shoulder with some gusto. "Ready to laugh your ass off?

Mercury would chuckle and wrap an arm around Yang's waist as they made their way inside the theater with a grin. "Just try and keep me from busting a gut."

The time that the two spent inside the theater seemed to flow as quickly as sands in an hourglass; the melee oriented pair laughing hysterically as whole sentences in the film's native language were boiled down to rarely clever one-liners or something completely unbefitting of the narrative itself, eventually those in attendance would become so annoyed at their outlandish behavior that they were told to leave the theater immediately and much to their chagrin (and their fellow moviegoers overwhelming joy) the pair of pugilists would eventually comply with.

"I can't believe how sensitive some people can be, I mean we were just going with the motions on how stupid some of these things are." Yang would stomp her foot indignantly as she recalled the raucous applause they received upon their exit, stopping once she realized that her silver-haired date had fallen out of step with her as they walked the promenade together. "Hey, you still with me here Mercury?" The lilac-eyed woman would turn back to see him looking down at his scroll inquisitively, raising a curious eyebrow at his absentmindedness she would grin as she snuck up behind him and swiped the scroll out of his hand. "Yoink!" The blonde would step back as he tried to recover his pilfered device. "Hmm, I wonder what dirty little secrets you're hiding in this-" Yang would frown upon seeing the words 'Wrestling', 'Live event', and 'Tickets Still Available" in the message that he had been reading. _"No..Not him too!"_

Mercury would be silent as he watched the Huntress shudder visibly as her grip on his scroll tightened to the point where her knuckles were bone white and her lilac eyes went red. "Hey..what's the matter? It's not like I was looking at nudie pics or anything, just some good old fashioned violence." Reaching out for his scroll would only cause her anger to heighten as she held it above her head, causing him to growl in frustration at her sudden switch in behavior. "Okay, what's your problem here Yang? Usually when girls find out that a guy likes Wrestling they usually just laugh it off and go along their merry way-" He would stop speaking as she tossed his scroll back to him with a noise of disgust before turning her back on him.

"If I wanted to date a wrestling nerd I'd still be puttering around with you-know-who, or have you already forgotten the giant fucking spectacles he freaking made every time there was a sparring session!" Yang would seethe as she remembered her former beau strutting down the aisle as loud rock music blared throughout the amphitheatre on more then one occasion. "I hated him a little more every time he did it, and the fact that my own little sister bought into the madness and made herself a little fan girl, Bullet Club t-shirt and all wasn't too great either" She would sigh in exasperation, finding a park bench to sit on as she tried to keep herself from completely blowing her stack as the usually cocky and assured Mercury just watched on as the Y in Team RWBY continued to vent some apparently pent-up frustrations toward the poor sap that came before him.

"But the worst part of it all was that at no point did Bálor ever turn it off and appreciate what he had in front of him: A girl who looked like a million Lien who was head over heels for him despite all the insane goofiness I had to put up with along the way." Yang would ball her fists tightly as her sappier side threatened to surface once more before finally glaring at Mercury himself. "I would've gladly shown him the world as we traveled around Remnant kicking all kinds of Grimm ass! Instead all I ever got from him were 'too sweet's', stupid hand gestures, that goddamn theme song and-"

She would stop talking as she felt the anger slowly sliding off of her shoulders, only to be surprised as Mercury got down on one knee and took her hands in his with a small smile as a blush slowly crept upon her cheeks.

"Sounds like you were really put through the wringer by your ex." The dark eyed Huntsman would look into her eyes, seeing the true depths of the pain she had kept locked up for a good amount of time. "Tell ya what spitfire, if it really bothers you that much then I won't go to the show. I can't promise that I'll cut it all out entirely, but I can certainly put you ahead of whatever event happens to fly my way."

The blonde brawler would smile despite the fact that she had come off as something of the girl in love that she usually hated, at least Mercury was trying to attempt to put her needs ahead of his own wants and that was more then the wolf Faunus had ever contemplated doing. "I'm…I'm gonna hold you to that ya know." Yang would try to put on the best cheesy grin she could possibly muster, even as Mercury gave a cool and confident smile back her way. "And I'm still not a big fan of that nickname you've given me either."

He would chuckle as he joined her in sitting on the bench and admiring her beauty, which was perfect even in the dull fluorescent lighting of a street lamp.

"Gotta admit, beats being called something stupid like…I dunno, 'blondie'?"

Mercury would smile smugly as he finished recounting the story of his date with Yang as the two of them had since begun walking to their next class for the day, even as Emerald shook her head in distaste at his actions at the time.

"Okay, at no point in that story did you try to make a pass at the bimbo." The tan-skinned woman would pretend to gag at the overall sweetness of it all. "You were actually a somewhat overly sappy gentleman." She would walk ahead of him a few steps and grin before faking a swoon.

"Oh Mercury, forget that shitty wrestling and run away with me!" Adapting a falsetto voice and blushing and continuing to spout sweet nothings, Emerald would continue to mock him as the steely eyed man would continue forward into Oobleck's class even as the terrible impersonation continued, at the end of the day Mercury Black knew he had a role to play in the grand scheme of Cinder's great plan and when the time came, he would do his part to make sure that things would go off without a hitch.

 _ **I was honestly very tempted to continue this chapter by adding a Bálor segment but it would just kill the flow of this chapter outright, I hope I did Thermometer fans...okay, I can't say 'Proud' because I'm not a huge fan of the pairing. But it beats the heck out of the standard OCxYang dynamic I had with Conversations.**_

 _ **Next Chapter we dive into a bit more Bálor-centric things plus the opening of "Round One" where our favorite cookie loving red hood visits dear old mom.**_

 _ **If, for any reason you'd like to see any of my other works get an update then drop me a PM. Until then, stay tuned for Chapter 3 of Dissonance!**_


	3. Prelude to a Waltz

_**Sorry I'm late with this one, between the holidays and some rewrites I couldn't pop this one out in my usual four days.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, Bálor Moonlight to me, any other third party mentioned belongs to their respective parent company.**_

Bálor Moonlight would find himself once again sitting before the desk of one Professor Ozpin along with his overbearing sidekick and fellow instructor Professor Glynda Goodwitch, on a normal day this would come off as a fairly disorienting turn of events seeing as he'd generally been keeping his nose clean, staying out of petty fights, and had even acclimated to wearing the uniform without much complaint. (although having to learn how to tie a tie properly, and from Ruby of all people, was downright embarrassing.)

 _"How did she even know how to do that anyway?"_ He would sigh quietly as Ozpin and Glynda looked him over without saying a word, if the wolf Faunus weren't so preoccupied with the fact that the crimsonette had been occupying more and more space in his mind lately he would've been creeped out by their probing gazes. _"Maybe her dad is as inept with this stupid neck noose as I am."_

"I'd like to thank you for coming to meet us on such an important day as this one, although I'd imagine you're disappointed in not being able to compete yourself." Ozpin would be watching his facial expressions shrewdly, smiling slightly as he saw the young man's familiar scowl.

"I don't really give a rat's ass about participating in the Vytal Festival at this point, I'll support my fellow students to the best of my abilities." He would try to restrain his bottled up fury at having been dragged in for his monthly Psych Evaluation on what was the worst day conceivable, he had finished finalizing the plans for his new weapon the night before after scouring the back alley dealers for the remaining materials he needed to build the damn thing. "Although I doubt that my disappointment towards participating in the overall tournament itself is what you're referring to..is it?"

Goodwitch would frown at the young man's tone but press on regardless, Ozpin had once again designated her as the 'bad cop' for this go-around which meant that it was time to press his buttons and test his fuse towards violent outbursts.

"I take it you're aware that Kevin Owens has vacated his title as King of the Vytal Festival?" The green eyed Huntress would raise a curious eyebrow as Bálor kept a straight face at this bit of news. "Nothing to say? I had it on good authority that you had issues with this man."

The silver-haired Huntsman would sigh quietly and shake his head at her thinly veiled attempts to incite anger by bringing up what used to be a very heated point of discussion in his life. "Sports-Entertainers have no business attempting to try and hang with those of us who risk our lives trying to keep Remnant safe, they spend their lives placating to the baser mobs of drunk idiots and then robbing them blind with their so-called Gimmick tables." He would pause to take a breath before continuing to speak.

"In fact, I'd go so far to say that a lowly bunch of dregs like Team CRDL could easily mop the floor with any wrestler out there. We train harder than they do, we work in more dangerous conditions then they do, and we have so much more to lose then they ever will! So to answer your earlier question Professor, no I wasn't aware nor do I care what that sports entertainer does with his time." The wolf Faunus would stand up out of his seat, adjusting and loosening his tie as he made his way to the door.

"One last question, if you'll indulge us Mister Moonlight." Ozpin would lean back in his seat, calling up the logo of wrestling heel faction "Bullet Club" as the young man turned around to face them. "What does this insignia mean to you?"

Bálor would frown in thought as he looked at the symbol that had one point adorned so much of his apparel and had even guided his actions in life when he had first arrived at Beacon. "That belongs to a group of guys who enjoys goofing off and drinking beers like it was water itself, the only symbol that means anything to me now is the one that represents the Kingdom of Vale." His response would cause the headmaster to smirk openly before bringing up a second symbol, somewhat similar to the original. However instead of a skull and rifles with bullets lining the bottom, there would be a red rose in the center with little wolves chasing cookies.

"I can't help but notice that this design has become rather prevalent on your shoes lately, and that it somewhat resembles the original." The elder Huntsman would lean forward expectantly as Goodwitch raised an eyebrow at this latest development. "Would you care to comment on this happening?"

The wolf would roll his amber eyes at whatever Ozpin was trying to insinuate before putting his hands in his pockets and grinning.

"My only comment is this: The insignia on my shoes may bear some resemblance to the original, but that's all the similarity you'll find to them." He would stare down at the black shoes he wore upon his feet, knowing that the symbol in question was imprinted on the back of them. "I wear that rose with extreme pride for the person that designed it, it's because of her and those close to her that I've become the person I am today." With those final words Bálor would finally leave the Headmaster's office, all while the pair of instructors exchanged inquisitive looks as the door close.

"It's as you suspected Professor Ozpin, he's obviously changed over the past few weeks from the obnoxious young punk he used to be when he first graced our halls." Goodwitch would breath a slight sigh of relief as she finished writing her notes for the evaluation. "Although his temper still poses something of an issue, perhaps we can put him in Anger Management therapy?"

Ozpin would furrow his brow as he dismissed the pair of images while completing his own notes and mulling over the young man's words with some concern. "I don't think something as simple as Anger Management will clear up this issue." He would dig into a random drawer and remove a manila colored file to inspect, it was filled with notes from prior evaluations which were all dotted with red markings and other notes that implied him as someone who "desperately needed to be monitored." "He's obviously putting on some sort of facade to beat our evaluations, I highly doubt that someone with his prison-hardened background would suddenly throw away everything that helped him cling to sanity in such a harsh environment."

Goodwitch would be visibly surprised by this sudden change in their viewpoints, it had been only a month ago that she had been recommending that the wolf be put through a more comprehensive evaluation and it was the headmaster himself that was lobbying for her to be patient and scheduling longer counseling sessions for his benefit.

"I know it sounds hard to believe Ozpin, but I've seen him in more social oriented environments and he's become more calm and open to the people around him." The veteran Huntress would think back on the times where she had seen him talking with various students in the dining hall, and based upon the slow increase in his grades as well as the few good reports from her fellow instructors it appeared that he was actually taking his studies as a Huntsman in training more seriously than in previous months. "Then there was the little diatribe he decided to leave us with mere moments ago, it's obvious that another one of your pet projects has had an astounding effect on his social habits as of late." Glynda would smile slightly, knowing that Ruby's own vibrant and honest nature was probably the only thing keeping him out of a jail cell and despite Ozpin's continued skepticism as they compared notes, she believed in the small ray of hope that the daughter of Summer Rose represented.

Finally free of the probing gazes that emanated from the leading duo of Beacon Academy, he allowed himself an audible sigh of relief before pulling off his tie and dropping it on the ground. "I really hate this thing, why do our uniforms even come with these things anyways?" The wolf would smirk as he turned up his collar and headed straight for the forge as fast as his legs could take him, time was ticking down to the start of the Vytal Festival tournament and he had to hurry and complete his new weapon. Not for the sake of battling in the actual tournament itself, but big events like these tended to bring out the less noble elements of the world and despite the talk of added security forces it still didn't sit well with the young Huntsman. _"They're Atlas forces, no doubt supplied by that damned Ironwood!"_ Bálor would shudder upon remembering the distinguished older male in his crisp white uniform, stumbling visibly as he felt old traumas brought back to the surface.

 _"Your son belongs to us now Lady Moonlight."_ The silver-haired young man would snarl as he remembered the stone-faced soldiers had dragged him out of his family home back in Vacuo literally kicking and screaming. _"His abilities will prove a great benefit to our kingdom."_ It had been a long time since he had thought of the terrible day that his former kingdom's military had forcibly conscripted him into the special PSI-OPS division, a group of children whose Semblances mirrored the abilities of psychics and raised by the military's most savage and off-kilter instructors. Brutal to the point of breaking most of the laws that governed common decency, out of the two dozen children who were forcibly taken from their homes only himself and three others had survived that Hell to infiltrate the ranks of the Kingdom's most affluent business and politically oriented individuals, gain their trust, learn their biggest secrets.

And then tear them apart from the inside out.

 _"I don't care how much Ozpin trusts that man, military is military..and none of them should be trusted!"_ Bálor would be seething visibly even as a familiar pair of boots entered his line of sight before noticing her distinctive golden mane and the strawberry scented shampoo that came with it.

 _"Speaking of individuals who can't be trusted."_

The wolf Faunus always enjoyed the scent of strawberries although he couldn't quite figure out why that was, only that it instilled a sense of calm in him that shouldn't be there considering who it belonged to. "What do you want Yang, I've had a very shitty morning and I'm not in the mood to be taunted right now." Grunting as he stood tall for the first time in months, the amber-eyed Faunus would stare daggers into the lilac orbs of his former love interest as he tried his hardest not to back down in the face of the beautiful woman that was once his.

"Still angry at me huh?" The brawler would ask this sarcastically as she looked him over quietly, taking note of the dilated pupils and poorly suppressed growl. "I thought you would at least be happier, now that you and Ruby have such a loving relationship-"

He had had enough of that stupid viewpoint, and it pissed him off that both sisters had managed to jump to said conclusion without asking the man himself. He would grab the blonde by her blonde locks while she gripped his loosened collar tightly, her eyes going from a calm lilac to a burning red.

"I hope to Dust that there's some kind of a brain underneath all that hair Xiao Long because I want you to get this through your FUCKING skull: There's nothing between me and your baby sister, maybe at one point in the past there may have been a chance at something but that was shot to Hell when I witnessed your fight with Blake."

He would lower his eyes to the shoes on his feet as his grip on her hair tightened further, preparing to speak once again. "When I heard you say that I was the only one worth giving it all to, it sparked something inside of me. Something that made me feel like I wasn't good enough and that I had to become BETTER!" The silver-haired Faunus would take his free hand and gently caressed her cheek as his eyes brimmed with tears as he remembered all the times he had run from her advances instead of embracing them: The Couples Dance, the night of the incident in the Underground, the morning after where he insisted that she wouldn't order him around anymore. "I was a coward back then, and it took a beating from an assassin that the Ice Queen hired to get me to stop running and accept that maybe you really did love me. Even during my trip with Ruby and all the mess that came with it, the only thing that was on my mind was that I hurry back home and try to make it all up to you."

Bálor would look up to see once-burning red orbs turn back to pools of lilac which were wide with shock at his words, her grip on his collar loosening. "It didn't matter that you trashed my room, destroyed my belongings..that backstabbing mutt comment really pissed me off but I can slowly get past that after a little while." He would sigh as he let go of her hair, keeping his fist tightened as he stepped back and wiped away the tears with his free hand. "I see you with that guy from Haven and it hurts my soul, but as long as he's making you happy then I suppose that's a scar I'll have to live with until the day I die. Because while I was busy _planning_ to win your heart back once I had returned to Beacon with Ruby, he actually went ahead and _did it._ No gimmicks, no bullshit, no cowardice."

With those words he would begin to trek back to the forge to finally complete his new weapon, leaving a stunned Yang Xiao Long behind in his wake as she struggled to absorb the truth of the words that had spewed forth from the depths of his heart

As the sun finally began to set upon the land of Vale and its prestigious Beacon Academy with its students and staff itching with anticipation on the eve of the start of the Vytal Festival tournament, the wolf Faunus stood alone at the forge as he finally unclenched his fist to reveal a few strands of familiar golden hair as the fading scent of strawberry mingled with burning ash and rusted metal.

 _"Just enough, that way she doesn't panic and lose her cool."_ He marveled at the length of the stands and blushed softly as she had the tendency to keep him from playing with the brawler's golden mane while they were dating. _"My father created the Eight Blades of Jaggerjack from a crystalline meteorite, something that existed alone in the darkness of space."_ Bálor would carefully set the strands of hair alongside a ball of Dust-infused twine as he tied it along the hilt of the obsidian colored blade he had forged previously, the shimmering golden hairs standing out among the crimson twine as the young man finished reinforcing the handle of his blade. It would offer no special enhancement, nor would it serve as some perverted source of power from which he could draw upon in times of need, such childish abilities and miracles existed only in the fairy tales read to children who had kinder parents than he himself did.

 _"At least this way, a part of your light will be with me as I fall into the darkness where I belong."_ Again he would feel the sting of tears in his eyes as he hefted the sword from its resting place and gave a few practice swings, surprised that it was slightly heavier then its slender appearance suggested.

"Hmm, should've picked a different metal beforehand..this could make fighting against faster enemies difficult down the road." The Faunus would frown as he set the weapon in its sheath, which had been embroidered with the pattern of a metal wolf chasing a golden dragon. "Finally, a weapon that I can call my own..no longer am I a slave to my father's hate-filled fangs. No, with this I'll forge my own path towards becoming a Huntsman." He stopped for a moment as he imagined the disapproving look in Ruby's eyes, forsaking the combination weapon they had designed together in lieu of a regular sword.

 _"It's kinda like Jaune's, cool color though."_ He would cock his head as a ghost of the crimsonette appeared before him, holding out her hand with a curious gleam in her silver eyes. Sighing in exhaustion as he walked through the obvious hallucination, Bálor would nonetheless address her as he climbed up the long stairway leading back to Beacon's no doubt quiet halls.

 _"Jaune's weapon suits him better, a sword of that caliber is better accustomed towards a white knight like him. Someone who WANTS to be a hero."_ The silver-haired young man would grin quietly as he kept walking up, imagining the fair-haired young man in question as he sparred with Cardin Winchester merely a few days before: According to Ruby, the match they had witnessed that day was in stark contrast to one they had had merely a few weeks into their first year as students where Jaune had been soundly defeated without Cardin suffering a scratch. _"It just goes to show how much Pyrrha's guidance has helped him, Juaney-boy pretty much hung with Cardin nearly blow for blow when I saw him fight."_ Truly the Knight of JNPR had lost by the absolute minimum of margins, causing most in attendance to clamor with shouts for a rematch. Something that even the wolf himself agreed to, despite not actually knowing or liking the young man on a personal level. On the battlefield, he would treat Jaune Arc as a valued comrade and defend him to the death if need be.

But there was zero chance of the two Huntsman having any sort of Bro-mance.

 _"No, unlike him I'm not looking to become some great hero of legend, or even a proud warrior like my father before me."_ The amber-eyed Huntsman would open the door to the forge as quietly as he could so as not to disturb anyone in earshot, especially since empty hallways did echo something fierce. _"I'm just a mutt, living amongst the shadows, waltzing my way to Hell."_ Bálor would grin as a flash of inspiration struck his sleep addled brain, like every student at Beacon his weapon would need a name.

"…Shadow Waltz, it's elegant yet at the same time inhumane." A tear slid down his cheek as his realized the irony in his choice of names, to the untrained ear the name Bálor was exotic..sometimes shamefully so. But to those with some sort of book learning, it would conjure up the image of the demon Giant whose third eye wiped out all it dared to see.

 _"Maybe someday, a great hero will come along and slaughter me as well…"_

 ** _This Chapter was a nightmare on many fronts: in-between writing sessions I'd have to stop and deal with some argument only to lose my train of thought, this shows in the hallway segment with Bálor and Yang where three different events occurred between revisions._**

 ** _The first involved Bálor throwing a telekinetic tantrum due to Weiss and Blake mocking him, leaving Yang to cover for him. This made Bálor look like a whiny bitch and would only serve to villainize Monochrome even further. Tossed it out._**

 ** _The second involved a flashback to the fight between Yang and Blake in Conversations, it was mostly Bálor reacting to Yang's very public declaration over her feelings for him. Mostly by way of shock and denial. This was at best, a paragraph of useless space. So I tossed it out._**

 ** _The third rewrite followed the scene in the hall with Mercury alone in his dorm doing push-ups and stating that tomorrow the plan gets underway, and that the fun times with his little spitfire were over. Too short, plus there are better scenes of villainous planning in Volume 3 itself. So I tossed it out._**

 ** _*sigh* now for something I don't normally do: shilling of other people's fics. As some of you know I have gotten a few of my Conversations ideas from fellow Fanfic writer Knight7572, he's kindly asked that I point out some of his works to you. He's actually written a few lemons that some of you MIGHT be interested in, gotta warn you that the dialogue is choppy and takes some getting used to._**

 ** _please by merciful in reviewing his works._**

 ** _As for reviewing this chapter, all I ask is that if you must criticize may it be constructive. And that following this the events of RWBY Volume 3 kick off, meaning Bálor has less interaction with the cast but will be lurking around somewhere._**


	4. Round One pt1

_**Gah, I'm so late to upload this one I'm not even gonna bother with the excuses!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, if I had my way it wouldn't be leaving Netflix at the end of this month! :( Bálor Moonlight belongs to me so direct your hate mail appropriately. Any other characters, companies, or corporations belong to their respective Parent Company.**_

 _ **Announcements to follow at the end of Chapter.**_

Ruby Rose would find herself once again standing silently over the grave of her mother, however instead of it being a dreary and lonely affair she had her father, Signal instructor Taiyang Xiao Long and her faithful canine companion Zwei waiting further back as the crimsonette stood quietly before removing her hood and giving as strong a smile as she could muster. "Hey Mom." She would say this in a chipper fashion, as if Summer where just standing at the stove preparing breakfast instead of resting peacefully beneath her feet. "Sorry I haven't come by in a while, things have been…well things have been pretty busy." 'Busy' was putting it gently, as the last week prior to this day had been spent trying to breeze through the last few assignments prior to the festival, fine tuning Crescent Rose to even further heights of excellence, and trying to swing the vote to where she would be one of the two going on to the Doubles Round.

Only that last objective went un-achieved.

"Dad's still..dad, he's still teaching at Signal but he says he's going to be heading out on some missions soon. I think he misses adventuring with you" Ruby would look down at the rose symbol upon Summer's grave with a slight frown. "I miss you too…" For a moment there, sadness would creep into her heart as memories of growing up without a motherly voice to guide her. And try as hard as she might there were just some things that her older sister couldn't cover, not that things were exactly one hundred for Yang at the moment either. "Haven't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet, so that's cool." She would start speaking lightheartedly once more, knowing that changing the subject was probably the best thing for the both of them at this point. "I think being on a team with Yang helps, I keep her in line." The red hood would stay quiet for a brief moment before remembering that her audience was eternally silent. "That was a joke."

 _"And a rightfully bad one at that, little Rose"_ She would frown for a second, hearing a familiar voice ring out in her head before dismissing it and continuing on. Making sure to mention about her teammates, the confusing team name that came with it, and various other happenings.

"Ya know, I still wonder why Ozpin let me into Beacon early, but I guess he'll tell me one day." Ruby would furrow her brow as she felt the wind pick up a little. "Ya know, the more I get to know him, the more he starts sounding like Uncle Qrow." As much as the crimsonette-haired girl wanted to reflect further on their eccentricities, but the sound of her furry friend's bark would bring that to a quick end to such oddball thoughts. "Oh! Looks like Dad's back, he promised to drop me off at the tournament before his next mission, wish me luck!" Ruby would quickly lift up her hood and turn to go meet up with her father and favorite four legged pal, but she would spare one last glance back at Summer's grave as she did. "It was good to talk." The silver-eyed Huntress would start jogging back to what remained of her family, and while it was fun to see and spend time with her father outside of phone calls due to their busy schedules there was still one very important question that had been gnawing at her before they had made it to the gravesite.

"Dad, where did you find Zwei..?" Daughter would end up looking at her father curiously, remembering the last time she had seen the Corgi and remembering a particular spiky-haired young man she had encountered in a rare moment of doubt.

"We-well umm..ya see honey." Taiyang would be visibly flustered at her question, uncertain of how to answer her query without revealing too much. "The thing is…" The blonde-haired man would run off quickly, leaving the red hooded young woman perplexed as to why. Instead she would kneel down to pat her faithful friend's head and receiving a few friendly licks to the face for her efforts before looking into his deep brown eyes. "Just tell me one thing boy: Was he doing okay before Dad took you back?" The Corgi would bark once, his tail wagging happily as he remembered his adventures with the spiky-headed boy _. "Thank Goodness, I'm glad that at least one of my non-Academy friends are doing okay."_ Ruby would sigh in relief as she stood and gestured for Zwei to come along, after all it wouldn't do for her to miss the first battle in the tournament after all.

Bálor would groan tiredly as he stumbled out of the shower, the night before was a nightmare thanks to his constant restlessness and worry for his friends who would be participating that day. (Meaning Ruby and Yang) But he did promise Ozpin and Goodwitch that he'd be a good boy and play support, so he had to make it over to the Amity Arena as fast as possible in order to root, root, root for the home teams as it were.

 _"I really wish they'd hold these things at a more feasible hour._ " The wolf Faunus would smack his cheeks as he inspected his reflection as best he could in his still shattered mirror, wondering just how many punches it took the blonde to cause such damage. "Unbelievable, why do I still chase that temperamental hothead anyway?" He would sigh and start pulling on a black button-up dress shirt along with jeans and a pair of black steel toed boots while his sneakers sat on the shelf forlornly, he would hesitate for a moment as he remembered Ozpin's final question during his little psych evaluation and perhaps more importantly how he had answered it.

 _"I wear that rose with extreme pride for the person that designed it, it's because of her and those close to her that I've become the person I am today."_

The amber-eyed Huntsman would stare at the boots he had taken out to wear for the day, they were meant to complete the new ensemble alongside his Shadow Waltz. "I was hoping to cut it all off and make a fresh start, but she keeps calling back to me." Bálor hated that even as he was trying to change from being the annoying hanger-on of Beacon Academy, it was one of the more annoying aspects of his time with Team RWBY: Weiss had more than enough reason to despise him thanks to the threat of blackmail that she had rightfully brought onto herself when she'd tried to have him killed months ago.

 _"I'm surprised I never cashed in that favor, although knowing her and her skewed mindset she'd probably think I'd try and sleep with her or something."_ Thoughts of the two of them getting hot and sweaty in-between the sheets would dance through his mind momentarily, although this would stop once his stomach clenched in agitation. _"No..dear God no, I'd rather take an open mouth kiss from Jaune, WITH tongue! After he's eaten a few cloves of garlic to boot!"_

Bálor would look himself over in the mirror and sigh at the stereotypical bad guy apparel he found himself wearing and hang his head in shame. "Okay, no..there's always a better way to signify a change in attitude then dark and broody wardrobe, I feel like I should slap myself for even getting this far into the get up." The wolf Faunus would quickly strip out of the dark colored clothing and grab the standard Beacon uniform and put it on, promptly doing the same with the rose emblem sneakers and breathing a sigh of relief at the feeling of comfort in it all.

At least until a familiar thunking at his door killed the mood outright.

"Hurry up already will ya B, we're gonna be late to the arena dammit?!" Yang's voice would boom through the door, at least before it managed to fall off of its hinges outright.

The silver-haired young man would smack his forehead, as she walked in with a rather perky smile on her face as she held out a cup of coffee for him.

"I knew you'd just be sitting here on your butt like this, and I don't blame you either." Her grin would grow wider as he took the coffee from her and took a merciful swig and looking at her curiously. "What, it's three sugars no cream…right?" The brawler would take a seat on the edge of his air mattress and look around at the room quietly, frowning as she recalled the rage-fueled frenzy she had caused while he was away.

"Yeah..it's the right order, I just don't get why you'd remember it..we haven't exactly been on the best of terms lately ya know?" He would finish the coffee and toss the cup in the trash can, he would quickly take the sheathed Shadow Waltz off of the wall and sling it over his shoulder. "I still don't get why I'm traveling with you guys anyhow, it's a Team flight and technically I'm just a spectator here." Bálor would step over the door without blinking and head out into the hallway, picking up his pace as he heard her footsteps behind him.

"Because my sister insisted that you get to the arena on time and awake enough to wear you can watch our fight without any problems, I seriously don't get why she insists on coddling you this way. You survived prison for crying out loud." The brawler would growl and pick up her own pace to match his, glancing at the sword he was now carrying or to be more precise: the design on the sheath. "You really can't let me go can you?"

"…Fuck off, that design was just the first thing that popped into my mind while I was making it. You made it plenty clear that we have no relationship when you trashed my living space and called me a backstabbing mutt." The wolf Faunus had just about all he could stand of her odd two-faced behavior, in one instance she would be prancing around with Mercury and finding some sort of joy in the Haven student's snide attitude but in another she would go back to teasing him and looking after his well-being as if they were still a couple.

"Let it be perfectly clear that while I still have loving feelings toward you, the fact that you were so boneheaded as to dump me without so much as ATTEMPTING to get the facts as to what was going on while I was away might as well have been the same as being shanked in the chow line like a chump!" His hand gripped the hilt of Shadow Waltz tightly, no longer seeing the lovely visage of someone he once held dear. "I trusted you with the one thing that I held onto tightly, tighter then death! And you just went ahead and shattered it like a cheap wine glass!" Bálor would go to unsheathe his weapon only to feel someone restrain him from doing so, he would whirl around to find himself eye to eye with a certain raven-haired cat Faunus.

"Do we have a problem here, because the pilot's really itching to leave..right now." Blake would admire the craftsmanship of the sword that he was threatening to use on her partner before pulling the obsidian blade out of its sheathe and point it at the wolf. "A bit heavy on the hilt, you really need to rebalance this thing before you try actually using it against someone. I can help you with that..if you want." The two of them would stare at one another without saying a word for a full minute before she returned Shadow Waltz to its sheathe.

Yang would watch the exchange quietly, noticing the wolf Faunus staring away from her Faunus friend before mumbling something and then stepping around her to proceed with their walk to the landing strip. "Holy crap, it's been a while since I've seen him run away without saying something snarky." The blonde would start walking alongside Blake at a casual pace before noticing the slight smile on her face, causing her to raise an eyebrow curiously. "You've got something over his head don't'cha kitten?"

The feline would blush slightly before giving her friend a lopsided smile. "Let's just say that your favorite mutt really sucks at poetry."

Amity Arena wasn't the kind of place a person could visit all year round, as a mobile floating structure there was only ever one time it would settle and let others wander its halls: The Vytal Festival; a once a year event where Huntsman and Huntresses in training came together and clashed against one another in order to prove their supremacy, for Ruby Rose it meant a chance for her and her sweetheart Crescent Rose to do some serious talking.

"C'mon, C'mon land already!" The red-hooded crimsonette would look out the window of their Bullhead, hoping to find her friends and teammates waiting for her on the platform waiting for her even as her father laid a hand upon her shoulder in support.

"Patience my Little Rose, we're almost there." Taiyang would smirk as the pilot began final landing procedures, Zwei resting patiently in the older man's lap as he looked over at his youngest daughter. "You look so much more like your mother everyday, you know that?" His voice would soften as he spoke, remembering the way Summer looked on their wedding day: a true angel in white. "I'm sure she would have loved to be here, watching you and your sister making us proud." Ruby would blush slightly even as she gently wiped away a tear that had fallen down Taiyang's face, doing her best to try and smile even as she saw her father's heart breaking anew. "She is watching over us Dad, somewhere up there I know Mom's smiling down on us proudly." The silver-eyed young woman would gently hug her father, trying to be careful enough not to disturb the still sleeping Corgi on his lap.

Although the bumpy landing would soon change that as Zwei opened his eyes and looked around curiously, barking happily once he saw the rest of Team RWBY waiting on the platform as he ran up to the window.

"It seems like your friends were able to get here ahead of us, then again it's not exactly a long flight from Beacon to Amity." Taiyang would watch on proudly as she quickly unbuckled her safety belt and grabbed Crescent Rose from the overhead bin as she rushed out to meet her sister and team, as a father he couldn't be more proud of his girls as they had excelled in their physical abilities greatly. (even though Yang could use a bit more motivation when it came to her studies)

"C'mon Dad, I want you to meet everyone!" Ruby would look back at her father, hoping that he would join her in seeing her off on what was especially one of the big days in her life only to see the ghost of a frown on his face. "I know you have a mission Dad, but please..we could use some good luck in our first match, and I'm sure Yang would like to see you too."

Taiyang would sigh and undo his safety restraints even as Ruby began to pout. "Alright, but only for a little bit. I don't think the Grimm will be as patient as you are." He would chuckle and gently ruffle his youngest daughter's hair as they disembarked from the ship, Zwei following quickly behind the pair before running up to Weiss of all people.

"Oooh there he is! There's my cute little Zwei." The heiress would scoop the Corgi up in her arms and continue to whisper sweet nothings to the canine, leaving a familiar wolf Faunus in a state of shock and disbelief choosing to lean over to a noticeably less stunned Blake for answers. "What's the deal with Princess Schnee, I've never seen her act so..chipper."

The feline would shake her head in astonishment as she whispered back to him. "He's a cute and adorable ball of fluff, unlike present company Zwei's earned his spot in our hearts. You just sort of weaseled your way in because you were Yang's bitch."

To say this left him hurt was something of an understatement as Ruby and Yang chatted excitedly with their father as the crimsonette was bouncing about and gesturing wildly as she introduced the remainder of the team, unaware that he was beginning to back away from the bright, shining light that was their sphere of happiness.

 _"I don't belong here..I'm not wanted, this..this isn't my family!"_ With that lone solitary thought and the echo of Blake's words flowing through his heart, Bálor would begin to walk away from it all. "This is their day after all, I might as well go find my proper place in the stands and cheer like a good little puppet." He would be set to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder, a gentle but firm grip holding him in place as he stared out at the crowds of people hustling to either get to their seats or grab some last minute snacks.

"You know it's impolite to turn your back on a guest." He would tense up, not immediately recognizing the decidedly male voice that was coming from behind him. "Judging by the way your body just tensed up I'm guessing you're the young man that's causing my girls' hearts to go aflutter."

Bálor would gulp audibly as he turned to look into the stern face of a stereotypical overprotective father, and while Taiyang Xiao Long certainly wasn't a mountain of a man by physical standards but that in no way undercut the threatening gaze that the silver-haired Faunus felt blanket him at the very moment.

"A-Aye sir, that would be my unfortunate role in all of this." The wolf would try his best to pull off a joking smile, one which would wilt under the weight of the fair-haired Huntsman's gaze. This wasn't just a father meeting a prospective boyfriend situation that the amber-eyed swordsman found himself standing in, this was one man testing another, to see if he was just some harmless schoolgirl crush or someone that he should be concerned with.

 _"Fine, if that's how he wants to play this then who am I to back down? Besides, I'm not just some stupid little worm that weaseled my way into this place!"_ Feeling braver than he had any right to be at that particular moment, the usually cocky Faunus would stare into the eyes of the man who no doubt taught Yang everything there was to know about hand to hand combat and extended his own hand. "Bálor Birugderc Moonlight sir, it's an honor to meet you." Silence would be heard in that exact moment as four Huntresses and one dog awaited the next move to be made, however rather then perceive it as some kind of a tense stand off the older pugilist would begin to laugh heartily.

"Relax kid, it's not like I was planning on breaking your neck or anything! I just wanted to meet this "great guy" that my Little Rose kept talking about the whole plane-ride over." Everyone would breathe a sigh of relief as an impending beat down was thankfully averted by the older man's jovial laughter, even as the two of them shook hands Taiyang's eyes seemed to share in his mirth as a gleam of happiness appeared. "I must admit you are quite the plucky little guy for someone so skinny, gotta admit, I like a kid with your moxy!" Ruby and Yang would be giggling and laughing respectively as Weiss and Blake simply watched on in a slack-jawed stupor as the hulking papa bear facade pretty much died before their eyes.

 _"Oh my God it's like shaking hands with a real-life Simon Gotch, only without the bitchin' moustache! This also explains why she was so eager to go with the freaking gimmick."_ Convinced that he was well and clear of any danger, the young man would smile as he looked over at the foursome and winked. "I gotta say sir, this has been a surprisingly pleasant experience. I thought for sure you were gonna lift me up over your head and shatter my back over your knee or something." Taiyang would laugh again before leaning in dangerously close to Bálor's ear. "Believe me kid under normal circumstances you wouldn't even be breathing right now, you just thank your lucky stars that my oldest is so forgiving and that my little angel is so over the moon for you otherwise I'd be turning your freaking spine into a pretzel!" The older man would tighten his grip quickly but painfully before leaning back and letting loose another round of laughter to drown out the whimpers of pain.

"Well my dears unfortunately it's time for me to get going, the people of Vale need me and the creatures of Grimm need to be reminded of my twin fists of terror so come and give dear 'ol Dad a hug before he leaves." Taiyang would kneel and hug his daughters tight even as the pilot of the Bullhead motioned for him to wrap it up and get going already. "I'll be rooting for you all in the tournament, I know you'll make me proud."

Yang would sigh and pat her father on the back, grinning as she did so. "No need to worry Dad, you taught me everything I know when it comes to fighting so we'll breeze through this thing no problemo!" Ruby would blush and echo her sister's sentiments while hugging the blonde pugilist as tightly as she could. "Stay safe out there Dad, I promise that by the time you come back home you'll be the proud father of two champions."

With some final parting words for his daughters, Taiyang would quickly jog back to the Bullhead with an excitable Zwei following behind him leaving Weiss pouting in his wake.

"Don't worry Weiss, he'll be back soon enough. Besides, I think it's about time we get over and prepare for our first round match." She would look over at the wolf Faunus who had been standing off to the side in silence, frowning as she noticed the crestfallen look on his face and mistaking it as sadness for his lost opportunity to compete. _"Well, at least most of us will be giving it our all out there."_

 _ **This was an absolute bitch to write, and it wasn't because I was trying to dance around Canon either, if I went too far along the path then this would be a novelization of Volume 3 with my OC disappearing *pauses to revel in the cheers of my detractors* however if I were to go too far from Canonical events then it would just be another fic, as you can no doubt tell I'm still trying to find a happy medium. Thus I'm breaking Round One into two parts.**_

 _ **And because I'm fucking exhausted.**_

 ** _Furthermore, as no doubt NONE of you have probably noticed, my canonical timeline of events has shifted, meaning that my unusually popular suicidal fic "One Bad Day", its shitty follow-up "Ghosts in Us" and the no doubt surefire flop that was going to be "Gift of the Lunar Rose" have been exorcised like demons from a haunted home. Not sure if I wanna count them as discontinued or just on the back-burner but those fics came from an Author who hadn't been thoroughly beaten down by the unwritten rules of Fanfiction but unless people demand otherwise, consider those fics the baby that got thrown out with the bathwater._**

 ** _This is MardukWritInd, signing off._**


	5. Round One pt2

_**Annoyingly Short chapter as I wanted to separate more Bálor-centric events into the next chapter (I'm not gonna hit every chapter beat by beat)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, Bálor Moonlight to me.**_

Bálor would sigh as he slowly trudged his way over to the seat assigned on his ticket ignoring the grumbling and complaints that he had to endure while doing so, hearing the sounds of a fierce battle going on below him as Team RWBY were having their first round match with a foursome from Haven going by the name ABRN as Professors Oobleck and Port handled the commentary, or what one could call commentary in most cases.

"…Age and school year are irrelevant, the only thing that matters in this tournament is skill." Oobleck would speak rather quickly as he most often did, to the untrained ear this would come off as a rush of words that would be tough to comprehend but six months in the man's class and superior Faunus hearing just left the wolf rolling his eyes.

"Correct." Port would continue the diatribe along further by explaining that the winning team would select two members to continue on into the Doubles Round, after which the remaining team member (whether by choice or if said teammate had been eliminated in Doubles competition) would proceed to fight it out with whoever's left in a bracket match competition. Obviously the last one remaining would stand as the winner of the Vytal Festival and no doubt be the talk of his or her Kingdom.

 _"Hmm, I'd like to think I know the girls well enough to anticipate how things will go past this round."_ The crowd would "Oooh" as one of the members of ABRN had been kicked out of the half-ice, half lava arena by a well time jump kick from the raven-haired feline.

 _"Yeah, they're definitely getting past these bums without much trouble."_ The amber-eyed young man would watch on quietly as Weiss encased the two males into a giant fist of ice and sent them rolling along towards a suspected ring out, his mind would work quickly as he noticed the versatility in her use of Glyphs as she created an ice ramp as Yang was rushing forward to gain momentum. " _Definitely Princess Schnee."_ Bálor would watch on as the brawler grabbed onto Blake's Kusarigama as the Faunus leaped onto Ruby's shoulders to receive a boost of speed thanks to her Semblance and propelling the Bumblebee portion of the team forward, leaving Yang to wipe out the remaining members of Team ABRN with a gauntlet-assisted fist that sent them flying out of the arena and clinching the match for RWBY.

 _"Job well done guys…"_ He would sit up from his seat and make a beeline for the exit, feeling content to stay as far away from their victory party given the earlier situation with Taiyang and Yang respectively. "You've definitely earned your place in this tournament."

This sort of peace was the one thing he needed as he wandered the grounds of the Vytal Festival in relative silence, it gave him plenty of time to think about what he wanted to do with himself when..or rather if he graduated from the Academy. Going back to Vacuo wasn't an option, as sweet as it would be to return and reap bloody vengeance upon Mana and the rest of the turncoats it would only result in a Kingdom-wide manhunt and eventually his execution. And proceeding on the path of a Huntsman would be just the sort of thing Ozpin would want him to do, and as grateful as the wolf Faunus was for springing him from the hell that was the BlackVale Prison he was done with being just another pawn on someone else's chessboard.

"What the hell am I going to do when this is all over anyway, the Grimm activity isn't severe enough for Ozpin to warrant sending me out on missions anymore." Bálor would sigh dejectedly as he continued to contemplate and ponder on the next phase of life, stopping when he heard a familiar voice coming from a slight distance overhead.

"So, how are the new 'friends'"? The wolf Faunus recognized it immediately as Mercury Black, Yang's current lover and one of the transfers from Haven. He had already given the amber-eyed young man plenty of incentive to tear his throat out when he learned that the two were dating, and since he was supposed to be playing the role of model student due to the current situation he felt it imperative to turn and leave.

"I hate them, it's just..how can they be so _happy_ all the time?" Bálor didn't recognize the second voice, his emotions were screaming at him to get a move on before deciding to walk up to the duo and start throwing punches. But the logic-ridden and prison-raised part of his mind were telling him to hide and gain info, people masquerading as friends was a common sight behind bars. Mostly it was due to the fact that the boys were often pent up and agitated, and you could only pass around the same prison bitches so many times before things got stale.

"Orders are orders, besides you got what we wanted right?" Mercury had begun speaking again as his partner sighed in disgust before answering his question, the wolf's ears perking up at the words 'heiress' and 'bimbo' before rolling his eyes.

 _"Sheesh, I know Yang dresses a tad loose but I doubt that she's like that."_ He would sit and watch the two of them skulking off before hopping down from the tree and dusting himself off as his stomach growled in protest. "Something stinks to high hell in Remnant, I better keep an eye on those two." His stomach would growl louder, as if insisting that its demands be met right then and there. "Fuck, alright already…" Bálor would turn on his heel ready to run to the nearest vendor for any kind of sustenance only to find himself met with a pair of amber-colored eyes not unlike his own, the wolf could feel his whole body tensing up in hesitation as he stood eye to eye with a woman he knew was horrible news as memories of the Underground came flooding back to him.

"Hello again my pet, I was hoping that I would find you here today." Cinder Fall would feel her lips curl upward in a devilish smile as the silver-haired Faunus felt his body tremble in fear of the raven-haired temptress standing before him, with the exception of his stomach which let out a muted growl. "I was so very concerned for your well-being after the incident a while back, it's good to see that you're unharmed."

He would bare his fangs at the woman irritated, the night that the pair had gone to the Underground had been a particularly jarring one as the atmosphere of death paired with its macabre Champion had left the wolf Faunus feeling like he was in a darkened nightmare with Cinder acting as a siren beckoning him to the darkness.

"Funny how with all your concern you failed to see if I was okay following the riot, hell my ex did more to ensure my safety after the fact and we're not exactly on the greatest of terms lately!" Bálor would growl and turn away as he decided to go off and find some proper sustenance, unbeknownst to him the pyromancer would be smiling as if his outburst of anger was merely another step on the way to some grand scheme. "So, it seems like Mercury's little plaything is helping me along in my plans after all. With every little outburst of anger, every moment of doubt, every second of hopelessness…" Cinder chuckled as she envisioned the end result of how his despair would effect her plans and she reveled in the infinite possibility of it all.

Team RWBY would be busy eating at a nearby noodle stand with the sisters and a less then thrilled Weiss were having a regular (albeit larger then average) portion of ramen while Blake's serving was adorned with fish heads and other bits of feline goodness as the heiress took out her charge card and handed it to the owner.

"Aww Weiss what's the occasion?" Yang asked exuberantly as the pale-haired Huntress, even with all her vaunted riches was a bit of a penny pincher were it came to treating the team to anything.

"Consider it thanks for sending me to the Doubles Round." Weiss certainly felt a sense of inflated ego knowing that she and Yang would no doubt win that round handily before envisioning herself succeeding in the finals, however those fantasies would be dashed as her charge card was thrown back with such force that it embedded itself into the wooden counter as the register flashed with a clear cut "Declined" message. "That's impossible, there's no way I could've gone through my monthly allowance that quickly!" The pale-haired Huntress would start to mentally run through her list of purchases

while Blake would try to sneak away with her meal anyhow, only to have her bowl quickly taken back, leaving the feline a pouty, upset mess.

"Perhaps I can help." A voice would say suddenly as the foursome looked over to see Pyrrha Nikos and the rest of Team JNPR walking up to the ramen stand, giving hope to the starving individuals (and especially a very distraught Blake

although on a personal level it wounded the heiress to have to resort to a friend in order to pay for a meal.

The group would then spend a bit of time discussing everything that led up to all of them now competing in the Vytal Festival from a group of renegade Faunus to a sociopath, each of them feeling grateful that they were in battles with rules and guidelines and not…murderers.

"Would Team JNPR please make their way to the battlegrounds immediately?" The normally droning and nonsensical voice of one Peter Port would suddenly come over the speakers nearby, alerting the happy and conversing gaggle of Huntsman and Huntresses that the next round was well upon them

"Well, it looks like this is it." Pyrrha would say with a cool confidence as the members of Team JNPR all stood up from their seats and began their march to the arena, Ruby wishing them luck as they were leaving. "Let's get going, I wanna make sure I have time to grab a popcorn and some other snacks before the next match starts."

Yang would sigh and look over as her sister and partner began to get up from their seats, as the brawler mulled over events from the day before.

 _"When I heard you say that I was the only one worth giving it all to, it sparked something inside of me. Something that made me feel like I wasn't good enough and that I had to become BETTER!"  
_

She would stare at the pale gold wristlets that doubled as her new weapons before feeling a gentle hand on her shoulder, shocking her out her reverie as she looked up to see Blake looking down at her with a worried expression on her feline features

"Hey, are you feeling alright Yang?"

The golden-maned Huntress would sigh and nod her head quietly as she stood up, not wanting to ruin Blake's more than chipper mood after finally sating her fish-cravings. "Just got a lot on my mind, nothing you need to worry your fuzzy little ears over." Yang would grin and reach behind the bow to stroke her partner's cat ears with a playful grin before jogging off ahead of her.

 _ **This chapter was chaos, straddling the line between canon and imagination is Hell on Earth but I do what I can to keep a calm balance, even if it means staying up past 2 on what's technically my birthday.**_

 ** _So consider this my present to y'all_**


	6. The Past Catches Up

_**This is starting to become less and less fun with each chapter, and I'm not just referring to this fic either.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, and man are they enjoying playing our heart strings like fiddles.**_

Bálor would sigh happily as he tore into another meat kabob, grateful that he had found the stand stuck away in a far corner of the fairgrounds, he didn't even mind that the others around him were talking loudly as they discussed RWBY's victory and the awesomeness that came with it.

"Should've known you would find a place to lay low, definitely a Charging Wolf at heart." A lovely female voice would speak calmly as she sat down next to him, holding up two fingers as two glasses of cola were slid her way. "You've done well for yourself Baby B…"

The wolf would drop the kabob he was eating from as the cold realization dawned on him, there were only two people in his life that would ever refer to him by such a silly name and the first was probably cavorting with her teammates. "I'm not going back Sis, I may not belong here at Beacon much these days but at least here I won't be killed on sight." He would drum his fingers on the counter in irritation before throwing down some Lien and preparing to leave, scanning the area for any more members of the old squadron even as the woman would stand up and place a hand on his shoulder.

"You can calm down Bálor the others aren't here, some bigwig demanded that they take out a Schnee Factory or three in the desert since everyone at Atlas is distracted with this tourney. Leaving me to hitch a ride out here and-" She wouldn't get a chance to finish her sentence as the cloaked woman would be forced to catch his fist with one hand before wrapping him in a choke hold and dragging him off to a more private clearing. "Geez, I figured that you still had a short fuse but this is just stupid!" The woman would lower the hood of her cloak by shaking her head slightly, before using her free hand to relieve Shadow Waltz from its sheathe and gently kicking him away.

"That doesn't belong to you!" The irate Faunus would whirl around to find himself face to face with a rather tall lynx-Faunus, her platinum blonde hair hanging just past her shoulders as sea green eyes stared back into his amber ones. "Give it back Memilora!" The wolf Faunus would whimper as the taller woman kept the black blade well out of his reach, even as he tried to jump and grab it. "I hate that you're a fucking Amazon-" Bálor would yelp as Memilora brought Waltz's hilt down on his head.

"Hey! The Amazon's are a proud warrior race, and I will NOT have you insult them you little shit!" Memilora (or Memi, as close friends referred to her.) would watch as her adopted young brother rubbed the top of his head with a sly smile before admiring the blade she had taken from him. "Not too shabby little bro, weight's a little heavy on the hilt but you could use the workout." The lynx would toss his weapon back to him, grinning proudly as the wolf caught the blade without looking and re-sheathed it.

Clearly this time at Beacon was paying off well for him.

"Why the heck are you even here Memi, I doubt the higher-ups would volunteer a team of assassins to compete in the Vytal Festival. Pretty sure you guys would clean house anyways." The amber eyed young man would watch as his older sibling merely rolled her eyes and gestured for him to follow her back to the fairgrounds, leaving the young man growling at his unanswered question. "Honestly sis I've been doing great since I left home: I finally ditched the headphones, the stupid wrestling mannerisms, I even had a girlfriend for a bit."

This would cause the fair-haired Faunus to raise a curious eyebrow at that last statement as she held up two fingers once again while perusing the bare bones menu. "What do you mean " _had_ "? 'Had' implies that you managed to fuck it up somehow." Memi would look over at the wide-eyed wolf Faunus as she drummed her fingers along the countertop in a similar manner whenever he was annoyed, it was a clear sign that he should phrase his answer very carefully. "W-well you see sis, it started out right as rain: Long romantic walks, tender moments, ya know all that wonderful stuff." The silver-haired young man would eye the lynx cautiously as she carefully sipped her drink and awaited the end of his tale. "It turns out that in the end we just weren't compatible, you should know how that goes sis. I mean you've expelled more cadets from your unit then any commander in the history of Vacuo, it's actually kind of a miracle that I managed to make it through."

Memi would nod quietly as she slid him a meat kabob and watched him tear into it happily, making sure to watch carefully as he finished every last scrap of it before speaking. "Yes, it truly was a miracle how you managed to survive my basic training drills. Walking hot coals barefoot, commando crawling under barb wire, and let's not forget my favorite daily activity: The Circle of Death." The few Faunus brave enough to sit around them would instinctively give her a wide berth, the more cowardly individuals suddenly asking for their bill or outright bolting at the menacing vibes the lynx was emanating. "I enjoyed watching my bloodthirsty little cub mercilessly beat the daylights out of his opponents while having the confidence to hold himself to a respectable standard." Memilora would sigh and pull out a fistful of Lien out of her pocket before placing it gently down next to her empty kabob skewers before standing up slowly from her stool and walking over to her adoptive younger brother and placing a hand on his shoulder. "And yet you're telling me that you just. Weren't. Compatible?" The grip on the young man's shoulder would tighten painfully as the wolf Faunus bit his lip to avoid screaming in agony, her nails digging through the Academy uniform. "I taught you better then that you little idiot! You ingratiate yourself into the environment, adapt to the situation and earn the trust of your peers!" The feline Faunus would hiss suddenly as a flurry of rose petals flooded her vision before feeling a blast of cold air hitting her face, soon Memilora would find herself face-to-face with the heiress of the SDC and a peculiar little crimsonette-haired girl. " _And just what do these two idiots want?_ "

"I can't believe you were right about the mutt being in trouble, there's no way you could've possibly known that without having some kind of Faunus hearing." Weiss would fold her arms and stare at the lynx Faunus cautiously without flinching. _"This woman, she's definitely not the type to be trifled with..I can feel it in her gaze, she's about as father is on a GOOD day."_ The heiress would watch as her partner walked over to a clearly pained wolf-Faunus and gently helping him to his feet as the young man blushed visibly, the second Faunus noticing this as well and letting out a slight hiss of disgust before raising the hood of her cloak and sauntering off. "You're a disgrace to the Vacuan military, and to Faunus in general." The three of them would watch as the cold-heated female soldier walk away until finally disappearing from their sight, Ruby would look up at her silver-haired friend with a frown before deciding to break the silence with the most obvious of questions.

"You okay?" The little red hood would examine her silver-haired wolf friend closely and frown noticing the gashes in his uniform, wishing that she could do something to help mend the wounds.

"The only thing wounded here is my fucking pride little Rose-" Bálor would stop and shake his head as he took a shaky breath. "Sorry about the language ladies, I just don't like it when my past decides to make a visit." Weiss would raise a curious eyebrow at this statement, watching as the wounds slowly turned from bright red to a pale salmon and finally settling back to his normal skin tone. "I don't get why your aura doesn't kick in faster, if it were Ruby or I who had contracted those wounds they would be mended in seconds." The pale-haired young woman would watch his expression harden somewhat before his amber eyes fixed themselves upon her. "What, you've got a problem with what I'm telling you?" The wolf Faunus would sigh and bury his hands in his pockets as he did before letting himself relax and put on a lopsided smile, causing the normally stoic Huntress to frown quizzically.

"No princess, in fact what you said about aura would be on point: Depending on the strength and volume of one's aura minor wounds are at best a minor inconvenience, but I was trained differently back in Vacuo. We used our aura to maximize our destructive capabilities in the event we were ever faced with a threat, be it Grimm or Human." Weiss would shake her head slowly as the wolf finally went silent, knowing better than to let the information she had been given rattle her in any way. "You really expect me to believe that you can use your aura to become some walking manifestation of a one man army? Because if that's the case then I call horseshit!" The heiress would march up to him and glare him down to the best of her ability, waiting for the amber-eyed young man to start snarling and lash out in anger. "You're had plenty of opportunities to use this so-called super strength to completely cripple ALL of Team CRDL, end the fight with Blake without even breaking a sweat, and do I dare even mention that blasted assassin situation!? Why not use this Godlike power then?" He could feel Ruby's grip on his uninjured shoulder tighten, a silent plea for him not to lose his cool and attack her partner and friend.

"First of all Weiss, it's nowhere near Godlike levels of power..at best it's at least twice the power of an experienced Huntsman, say someone like Ruby and Yang's dad. As for why I haven't used it..the simple truth is that I can't." This would earn him a snort of skepticism from the wealthy Huntress, who seemed even more irritated then before the conversation had begun. "You have every right to look at me like some kind of a liar Weiss but Ozpin and Goodwitch have had every medical test they could think of on me and even they can't figure out why I can't fully draw out my aura!" The crimsonette's grip on him would tighten once again as his body tensed with anger, instead he would roll up his sleeves to above the elbow as various puncture marks would be visible. Ruby would gasp audibly at the sight while the heiress remained deathly quiet in anticipation of some tear-riddled explanation. "For the last six months I've been put through a sick gauntlet of never-ending blood tests, EKG scans, ink blot tests, and about every other stereotypical medical exam you girls can think of, to say I'm incredibly tired at this point is an understatement." The trio had since begun walking toward the arena as he had continued to talk, although Weiss continued to keep a skeptic frown upon her face.

"Have you slept much since we got back, or have you been busy working on our you-know-what?" She would notice the sword sheathe and the intricate pattern built into it, wondering how he had managed to craft the design amidst all of the various other issues he had posed during the design phase. "I mean I could've come down to the forge and given you a hand, I did build Crescent Rose after all." Ruby's cheeks would rouge with pride and adoration for her precious weapon which was resting safely in its own holster of sorts.

"I'm aware of that my dear and as much as I wanted to at times during construction, I needed to do this on my own." He would look over at a visibly annoyed Schnee with a bit of a carefree smile before taking one of their hands in each of his, only to have the pale-haired girl pull away with a huff while Ruby's blush deepened visibly. "Besides, how can I look myself in the mirror and call myself an honest-to-goodness Huntsman if I were to go into battle with a weapon I didn't craft myself." Bálor could feel Ruby's hand squeeze his own abnormally hard, even as she kept a pleasant smile upon her face. "Design phase obviously being the exception of course!" He had yet to reveal that his Shadow Waltz pretty much stood as the antithesis to the Variable Sword that the two of them designed together, often spending long nights arguing over basic things like sword length, weight, and at one point even the color of the blade itself.

Weiss would groan as the two of them continued to talk excitedly amongst themselves, their pace beginning to slow as the duo got wrapped up in the conversation. "As much as I hate to break up the mutual love-fest between weapon geeks, we really need to pick up the pace before Team JNPR's match begins!" The heiress's stern voice would kill the frantic but happy discussion outright as the human-Faunus duo immediately reached for Weiss's hands before giving her a chance to protest.

"Gun it Rubes!" The wolf Faunus would grin as his crimsonette-haired comrade would use her Semblance to propel the three of them forward.

Meanwhile Blake and Yang would be standing outside of the arena as they were more or less forced to wait for their missing teammates, but this would be the least of the feline Faunus's worries as the normally talkative and outgoing brawler was abnormally quiet for the entirety of the walk over. "Alright, what happened this time? Did he finally go off the deep end and insult your hair, because if that's the case I'm really wondering how he's still breathing." Sure it was a lame duck joke, but her partner always had immense pride in her gorgeous golden locks and heaven help the poor soul who messed with a single strand of it. But the lilac eyed Huntress would continue to stare off into space as she was lost in her own thoughts, leaving Blake to shake her head and deliberately stand in front of Yang and clap her hands loudly in front of the blonde's face to shock her back to reality. "Yang, what in the world is the matter with you? You've been acting out of sorts ever since we won earlier."

The pun-loving pugilist would sigh and shake her head as she leaned against a nearby tree and frown in thought. "Things have just been weird between we and Mercury lately, up until the last few days before the Vytal Festival we would always be together and if we couldn't do that we always messaged each other back and forth." Yang would ball up a fist as she stared at her feet, as thoughts of the silver-haired rogue ran through her mind which unfortunately brought up the other individual in her life who sported similar hair. "Hey Blake…what do you think of Bálor, as a person I mean?"

This question clearly caught the feline Faunus off-guard for a brief moment before shaking her head absentmindedly, crossing her arms and closing her eyes in thought.

"He's a little bit on the obnoxious side, stubborn, had an unhealthy obsession with wrestling until recently, is prone to outbursts of random anger-" Blake would stop talking once she sensed something whizzing by them at a fast pace. "Umm, I think Ruby and Weiss just passed us by. Either that or we've got some very strange wind patterns going on today."

Yang would sigh and start walking into the arena with her partner following behind with a quizzical expression on her face before noticing the scent of another Faunus nearby, her hand quickly reaching for Gambol Shroud only to remember that it wasn't on her after the fight. _"What the hell is going on, and why can't anyone else sense this?"_ The feline would shake her head and continue her walk into the arena, quickly finding the rest of her team sitting in the seats reserved for participants as Professor Port began to announce the participants for the next match.

"Team JNPR of Beacon versus Team BRNZ of Shade!" The crowd would roar loudly in anticipation of the upcoming bout, even Ruby would be cheering happily.

Memilora would sigh as she strolled through the forest surrounding the fairgrounds, having observed the comings-and-goings of the four individuals connected to her adopted sibling. "They're nothing too special, trust me when I tell you that when the big boss gives us our cue…we can take them out." On the surface, she would be talking to herself like someone who'd gone mad. "For now, the little dunce believes I'm here for a friendly visit and that no one from Vacuo has him in their crosshairs." One by one cloaked individuals would appear in the trees above her, one of them clutching a stuffed bunny to their chest as if the world were about to end.

"Personally if it were up to me, I would've just dragged him back here and given him a well-deserved blanket party. But orders are orders, and we are to wait until given our instructions." The lynx Faunus would remove a Grimm mask from behind her back and carefully place it over her face, obscuring the devilish smirk playing across her face.

 _ **This chapter was a certifiable nightmare to go through, it figures that the one time where I get to ignore the show's Canon and focus on what I established in previous stories is when my oh-so-glorious Depression kicks in! If this chapter isn't up to snuff for what you're used to from me, then I understand and accept it. This isn't the first time my so-called mental state decided to wreak havoc on my writing and it won't be the last, I did have to rewrite a portion of Weiss and Ruby's involvement to edit out further villainizing of everyone's favorite heiress. Granted, outside of "Addiction", she and Bálor aren't exactly going to be besties after what went down throughout Conversations but fuck it. Even bitter rivals could learn to be civil for the sake of a mutual friend.**_


	7. Interlude

_**Ahh, for those of you who happened to read New Challengers (before it was pulled) you saw a lot of surly comments towards Jaune, Sun, and Neptune. And while I was just trying to reflect and further my OC's slow descent into..at the least what is an anti-hero, people didn't take it too well and my mailbox was swamped with very unhappy Guests, so I'm re-doing Chapter 7 (not to rectify the errors, but to put more my spotlight on the OC's. Yes, there are more coming.)**_

 _ **So please hold tight while I work on the new Chapter 7**_

 _ **Thank you for your patience.**_


	8. Mauve, Pudding, and Dive Bars

_**Alright, so here we go again.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth**_

 _"3...2...1...Begin!"_

The arena behind him would erupt in a roar as the match between JNPR and BRNZ kicked off on what was assuredly a high note, however for a certain wolf Faunus this would be one battle that he wouldn't view personally.

It wasn't for a lack of pride in his fellow Beacon students, or that the fact that their opponents were from the Shade Academy of Vacuo, (although that didn't exactly help keep him there.) he just didn't feel like being there and rooting for the home team like some braying seal while everyone else was giving it their all.

Including his pun-happy ex.

 _"It's just not fair, everybody else is getting their shot to fight while I have to sit in the stands and analyze. Not like Yang would listen to any advice I have to give at the moment, Weiss might..she's the analytical type after all."_

Bálor would continue pondering his next move as he walked through the fairgrounds, only to be jolted out of his quiet reflection by the sounds of argument coming from one of the food stalls with a twitch of his ears.

"Come back here when you have some money you mooch!" The angered vendor would exclaim before pulling away a bowl of pudding from a brown haired girl wearing a nun's clothing, she would whimper audibly as the treat was snatched away from her reaching hands.

"Please sir! As a nun, I'm under a vow of Poverty so I can't pay you!" The pudding starved young woman would whimper as the vender ignored her entirely, Bálor would watch this with a look of befuddlement as he felt a bizarre sense of deju-vu from this peculiar happening.

"Well, at least she's not tearing the place apart…yet." The silver-haired young man would furrow his brow in thought as he mulled over the situation at hand before sighing in thought and relenting as he walked up to the desert vender, the girl's whimpering very audible at this point. "I honestly didn't think Remnant had any religions, but what do I know: I've been in a prison, the military, and Beacon. Of course I could miss some facts about my home." The wolf would lay down some Lien while clearing his throat to get their attention, the vender raising his eyebrow curiously while waiting for an order to be placed. "Pudding, whatever flavor the lady over here wanted." This would surprise the poor whimpering nun, whose expression quickly changed from one of joy to adulation.

"Oh thank you thank you THANK YOOOUUUU!" She would hug him gleefully, blissfully unaware of the fact that said hug was practically rag-dolling him about.

"P-Pudding..Quick!" The amber-eyed Faunus would use his Semblance to break from her embrace as gently as possibly, sending her into an awkward position on a nearby stool before rubbing his neck as fresh bruises formed where the woman had hugged him. "Wow, you really like pudding. I've got a friend with a similar affinity for cookies, I'm sure you two would get along famously." She would be preoccupied with her pudding to notice the sleight against her, looking over at him with a grateful smile before gesturing him to take a seat next to her.

"I don't know how I could possibly even begin to repay you for this kindness, He truly does work in mysterious ways." Her lavender eyes would shimmer with adoration as she placed her hands together in silent prayer while the amber eyed Faunus ordered himself a strawberry ice cream cone. "My name is Evelisse Casia, and I am humbly in your debt."

Bálor would simply shake his head in disbelief at this woman's behavior while enjoying his ice cream cone for a moment, looking her up and down curiously as he did. "First of all, it's just a bowl of pudding thus there's no debt at hand here. Secondly, I wasn't aware that Remnant had any form of religion aside from some insane desert raiders that worshiped a nest of Death Stalkers." The wolf would lay down more Lien and sigh quietly as he remembered the event in question before pointing to the empty pudding bowl. "Keep 'em coming, I have many a question for our new friend here..and I think she'll be more talkative if we keep the fix coming."

Needless to say, this was a deal that the pudding-loving nun could easily get behind.

 _"And with that it appears Team JNPR wins by knockout! Literally, can someone go make sure they're okay..?"_ Port's commentary would signal the end of Team JNPR's match against BRNZ as Nora had practically cleaned house on the three Huntsman and one Huntress representing Vacuo with a swing of her mighty hammer as Team RWBY celebrated in the stands, blissfully unaware of the shaggy haired boy in the stands above them looking on bored as he flipped through the pages of the heavy book he was reading only to have it slip from his grasp as he did.

"Crap! Look out below!" He couldn't risk using his Semblance out in public lest the place break out in a panic, his eyes would make contact with a feline Faunus who said nothing as the blonde next to her caught his book with ease despite its heavy weight. _"Damn, that chick is freaking strong! Either that or I should start lifting weights again."_

The blonde would look up at him curiously, taking note of the slack-jawed look on his face before snapping her fingers repeatedly to get his attention. "Hey! Is this brick of a book yours or what?" Yang would sigh as the befuddled individual in the stands just nodded quietly as he was obviously in shock at her gorgeous appearance, (It wasn't the first time a guy had been struck silent by her after all.) she would grin before leaping up in front of him and hand the book back to him but not without winking at him teasingly before settling back into her seat. "I just love messing with the cute ones."

Weiss would roll her eyes at her teammate's saucy behavior before looking up at the poor sap in question and sighing in disgust. "What is it with you and disgusting mutts, I swear you have some freak affinity for strays or something." She would look to her right expecting a retort from Yang's first "stray", only to be greeted by an empty instead. _"Great, the one time I expect him to be an inconsiderate asshole and start a fight he disappears!"_ The heiress would feel herself frown slightly as she had gotten used to their endless arguments as they had been doing it so often she had subconsciously begun to enjoy the absurd thrill of it all.

"Heh, you're one to talk about Yang's love of shaggy individuals." Ruby would snicker while gently nudging her partner with her elbow with a goofy smile. "You turn into a sappy mess whenever Zwei happens to come around." This would cause Weiss's cheeks to flush in embarrassment before shaking her head quickly.

"Th-that's totally different! Zwei is small and adorable, and cuddly, and soft, and-" The pale-haired Huntress would sigh as she stopped herself realizing that she was only proving Ruby's point. "Touché Rose"

The boy from earlier would slam his book shut audibly before looking down at the quartet of giggling Huntresses below him. "I can hear you guys, you realize that don't you?" He would run a hand through the mane of dark hair before smiling slightly as the giggling ceased and the four of them just stared up at him with varying levels of embarrassment, if he were any level of douchebag he would have followed it up with a clever zinger. "I'm no dog ladies, just a guy who happens to be between haircuts. Oh, and my name's Anders..Anders Mauve, not 'Mutt'. Or 'Stray'. Or any other dog-related word you people can think up. Just. Anders!" The members of Team RWBY would give their apologies quietly as they settled in their seats for the next match, all except for one.

"Geez, you really can't take a joke can you _Andy_?" Yang would grin as the young man above them just stared on in dumbfounded silence, oblivious to the most obvious shift in his own name. "Mind coming down here, if we're gonna keep chit-chatting like this I would rather not have to strain my neck like this."

The young man known as Anders Mauve would stare down at his feet in contemplation before deciding to jump down and join the four girls, taking the empty seat next to Weiss as announcements for the next match started up.

In the corner of the wharf of Vale sat a quaint little watering hole known as the Crow Bar, which like most establishments would be broadcasting the feed of the Vytal Festival to those few who weren't too blitzed to see straight. The bartender would be pleasantly happy to see Team JNPR's victory and proceeded to comment as such to the lone patron sitting at the bar, only to be rewarded with an annoyed grunt in reply.

"Still as surly as ever I see, you dusty old Qrow." A harsh sounding female voice would say before taking a seat at the bar and looking up at the monitor curiously before smiling at the bartender from under her the hood of her cloak. "Laurence my dear, the usual if you don't mind." The bartender would happily nod and begin mixing a brightly colored cocktail as the man called Qrow would groan and look over at the hooded woman in disgust.

"You've got a lotta nerve to show up here after the crap you pulled, don't even deserve to be called 'Lady'" He would take a swig of his drink while trying not to completely lose his temper, growing further agitated as she merely giggled in response to his restraint. "Why're you even here, come to cause more trouble for the true parents of the world?"

The hooded woman would frown slightly even as Laurence carefully set down her drink, noticing the animosity between the pair at the bar and wondering if he should call the authorities in order to stop an impending brawl.

"You're one to complain about my parenting considering your relation to a coward who willingly waltzed out on her own child." She would smirk and take a sip of her cocktail and let loose a low purr of delight. "Excellent Laurence, you're truly a master of your craft." The three of them would look up at the monitor as commentary for the next match were beginning to start up once again.

Back at the fairgrounds, Evelisse (or Evie as her friends called her) would be polishing off her third bowl of pudding with a happy sigh as Bálor prepared to lay down some more Lien for a fourth bowl, only for the brunette to gently grab his wrist and shake her head politely. "You've done plenty for me already, surely there must be something more I can do for you besides answering questions about my life."

The amber-eyed Faunus would smile and instead lay down the Lien regardless. "One cola, and one of whatever the lady feels like having." The dessert shop owner would scowl bitterly as the two had been occupying his shop for over half an-hour, but at least the annoying duo had been a steady source of income for the man. "Two colas it is then…"

The wolf Faunus would sigh and look over at his new friend, who really had once been a devout nun and a follower of the Maidens Four. And while not specifically explaining who or what they were exactly, but he could see the fiery zeal of belief in her deep brown eyes as she spoke. "So you're telling me that the world of Remnant is ruled over by four women whose abilities surpass Semblances, if that's the case then why not just destroy the Grimm? Why not end the madness and save us all?"

He would look to Evie for answers, wanting to know what zealous rhetoric she would use to justify these so-called deities lack of action against the creatures of Grimm. However the Maiden-worshipping woman would frown as she stared into her drink sadly, not knowing how best to word her answer. "I knew it, they're just like every other myth out there in the world: Too fantastic to be real, we're all just really left to fend for ourselves while thing scale out of control and demons like me are allowed to walk free." He would stand up, preparing to leave only to be stopped by the sounds of quiet sobbing, shaking his head as he had crossed a line by mocking the woman's belief. "I'm sorry Evelisse, I guess I really shouldn't mock something you hold dear. Just because some of us can't see past the filth of this world doesn't mean that applies to everyone."

She would remove a handkerchief from one of her carrying pouches and gently wipe away her tears before turning to face him, tears still sliding down her cheeks as she gave a happy smile before getting off of her stool and jogging after him.

Only to fall flat on her face in a strange display of clumsiness, whimpering as she slowly climbed to her feet only to see the silver-haired young man looking at her out of concern.

"I-I wasn't crying because of what you said, people are entitled to their opinions no matter if they agree with my views or not." Evie would smile brightly as she caught up to the thoroughly confused Bálor and placed her hand upon his shoulder gently. "I've learned that it's best not to let the words of others ruffle my feathers, I know that deep down we all have our own ways of seeing the world. And while I may never be able to convince you of my faith in the Maidens Four, I would like to help you see the brighter side of the life you lead." The wolf Faunus would sigh sadly as he looked down at the pudding-loving brunette, wondering if it was her religious ideals that were driving her to help him or if it was her heart leading her to offer him such kindness.

"Evie..I appreciate what you want to do and if this were a different point in my life I'd gladly jump at the chance to get to know more about you, and maybe even embrace your views." His mind would shift to the events surrounding his fallen relationship with Yang and the 'will-they, won't they' dynamic that constantly existed between himself and Ruby. The former had gone to unfathomable lengths to break him out of the isolation he had used to survive everything that his cruel life had thrown at him, only to see him fail her when he tried to hold onto the security blankets that had kept him sane. While the latter had instead choice to embrace the amber-eyed young man with all his quirks and oddities with the intent of coaxing out some of his more human aspects, however that would go south as he noticed that she was falling for him on some level while she remained blissfully unaware of just how bloodstained his hands truly were. "But someone like me, someone who was born in the darkness of hatred and murder just end up tainting the people who try to stand beside us." Bálor would sigh and walk off as the commentary from the arena signified an end to the battles in the arena for the day, meaning that his friends would no doubt be making their way out of the arena. "Guess that's my cue to get moving, if I know my cookie-fiend of a friend, she's gonna be very hungry and very psyched up after watching those battles in the arena." He would give the saddened young woman a lopsided wave as he walked off to meet the members of Team RWBY, unaware that Evie's face was now set into one of determination.

 _"Oh Maidens, give me the strength I need to shatter his veil of sadness and bring him into the light of your loving embrace!"_ With that she would smack her cheeks gently in an attempt to pump herself before pursuing the lone wolf of Beacon.

Meanwhile Anders and the rest of Team RWBY would watch on as Sun and Neptune were celebrating their victory by busting out some dance moves.

"Looks like the dorks managed to win it after all." Yang would say this while the two Huntsman celebrating while her own partner blushed slightly as she noticed the monkey-tailed Faunus grin and wink in her direction as they celebrated.

"Emphasis on dorks."

The newcomer meanwhile would still be someone star-struck over the flashy fighting style and debonair demeanor of Team SSSN member Scarlet David, his memorable skirmish on the ship wreckage with NDGO leader Nebula Violette only served to intensify his adoration for the man. _"He's just like one of the swashbucklers in mother's old novels."_ Anders would close his heavy tome and swoon audibly as he stood up from his seat. "I think I'm in love.."

Yang would hear this and crack a cheeky grin in response to the metaphorical hearts that were no doubt emanating from the young man's green eyes. "Looks like somebody's got the hots for one of NDGO girls, I saw how you were watching that brunette on the ship."

The shaggy-headed bookworm would lose a bit of his luster upon hearing the blonde brawler's words, quickly putting on a grin of his own before going silent. _"Sheesh, blonde's really are dense..well most blondes."_ Even an embarrassed Anders had to admit that both Sun and Jaune had managed to lead their respective teams to victory while overcoming some very bizarre circumstances mid-fight, it made him wish that his own team leader was something akin to either of the fair-haired young men.

It was something he wished his own leader could be, but as he imagined the stern and at times somewhat deranged look of the savage young man in question, his stomach would clench in deep protest. " _If anything, that psychopath probably would've demanded we charge in first and exhaust himself before stepping in and claiming the glory himself. Wouldn't be the first time he's pulled that crap."_ His thoughts would be interrupted by the sounds of Professor Oobleck instructing them to exit the arena in a 'calmandorderlyfashion' which he would do with a bit of a frown, only for said frown to deepen as he caught sight of an incoming Bullhead flying overhead something which was also noticed by the pale-haired Huntress sitting next to him as both of them would speak the same phrase aloud.

"She's here."

Back at the Crow Bar, the Hooded Woman would smile as Team SSSN celebrated their victory, the exuberance warming her heart as she finished her cocktail. "Quite the energetic bunch aren't they Laurence?" She would gently place some Lien next to her empty glass before doing the same with the bartender's Tip Jar, even as Qrow voiced his drunken dissatisfaction with what he had witnessed.

"Geez, you didn't like this match. The Vale kids? What match are you here for?" The bartender truly was puzzled as Qrow simply mumbled 'that one' before paying for his drink and slightly stumbling out of the bar into the city streets. "By golly, it's like that guy wasn't happy with anything that happened in the Festival." He would frown as a glass shattered when it hit the floor.

"Never you mind him Laurence dear, that dusty old Qrow has always been a bit of a prickly one. What do you say love: One more for the road?" The bartender would sigh in relief as she smiled from underneath her hood as she looked down at her scroll silently as her drink was set down on a coaster. "Thank Goodness you decided to come in today Lady, but I gotta know: Just why did you pick the Vytal Festival to blow back into town?"

She would sigh sadly, setting her scroll down and taking a rather long drink from her cocktail glass before lowering her hood to reveal a pair of amber eyes along with a gruesome scar running down her right cheek.

"Does a mother really need a proper reason to see her long lost son?"

 _ **Alright, I can understand why 'New Challengers' was pretty badly panned, I did Jaune and Neptune zero favors in that one and you all were quick to call shenanigans on my behavior. In retrospect it was probably a terrible idea to write a chapter based around an episode of Volume 3 I didn't particularly enjoy and I apologize.**_

 ** _Dissonance isn't meant to be a complaint about Volume 3 in any respects, granted Volume 3 didn't exactly light my world on fire in the beginning, however thanks to recent Chapters I'm glad I hung in there._**

 _ **Poor Penny...**_

 _ **Also, I'd like to clarify something that a Guest reviewer bluntly brought up on the pulled chapter. Yes, I have a poll up on my profile page asking that if you COULD pair up Sora from Kingdom Hearts with any girl in RWBY who would it be? Then a long list of choices**_

 ** _Yes, I do intend on doing ANOTHER KH-RWBY Crossover after Dissonance is complete, the only reason I brought it up during a RWBY-centered story was to spread the word._**

 ** _Especially since Conversations of the Heart was so well received by folks, I seriously wasn't expecting that and I'm glad so many people want me to keep it up. (For those of you who haven't read it, give it a shot because I enjoyed writing it.)_**

 ** _Which I will, as a proper Crossover, IN THE CROSSOVER SECTION! It wasn't so much that the comment infuriated me, it made me wonder what the heck the issue was. Thus, clarification_**

 _ **Also, with the new World of Remnant coming out tomorrow focusing on the Maidens, I may or may not have to eat Crow (Not Qrow, but seriously how awesome is Qrow by the way?)**_

 _ **Anyways, I'm rambling. Vote in the poll if you want but please remember that I'm just doing the best I can with what I got: My own personal preferences towards characters plus source material (Seriously, I watch chapters repeatedly before and during my writing)**_

 _ **Good night and Good luck**_


	9. Brawl in the Family

_**Impromptu hiatus due to Volume 3 feels, College, and a fractured ankle.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, fine folks following a great man's playbook. Bálor belongs to me, the bum who fractured his ankle while running to class**_

Ruby and Weiss would be making their over to the Academy landing docks with the heiress currently in a fluster as they red and white duo approached the now-landing aircraft. "Weiss, what's wrong?" The crimsonette was genuinely at a loss for her partner's current shift in behavior, said confusion would be only made worse as Anders grimly stood next to the red hood with a crestfallen expression on his own face. "Who the heck is on this ship?" The shaggy-haired bookworm would sigh and simply hold up three fingers before counting them down to zero as the hangar door opened as a woman looking somewhat like an older version of Weiss would step down from the landing ramp of the Bullhead while being flanked by four Atleasian Knights.

"Winter!" Weiss would call out to the pale-haired woman with an exuberant look upon her face, even as Ruby looked on in surprise as the older female turned around to face the now-trio of individuals.

"Your sister?" The silver-eyed Huntress would watch as the older Schnee made her way over to them with a stoic look upon her face while observing them in a cold fashion.

"I'm so glad you're here-" The younger heiress would speak in obvious joy at the fact that her elder sibling would step away from the iron walls of Atlas to pay her a visit, but her joy would quickly shift to one of formality as Weiss would curtsy to the woman as if she were of more Noble blood. "Your presence honors us."

Ruby wouldn't react visibly to this second shift in attitude, though it did strike her as odd that for two individuals who were related to one another that there was so very little warmth between them.

"Beacon, the air is..different." Winter would say this while looking around at the semi-deserted area they were now standing in, not reacting in the slightest as Weiss hit Ruby in the arm for making a bit of a weather joke. This wouldn't phase the older Huntress in the slightest as the final two members of her entourage finally stepped out from the landed Bullhead with matching smirks. "It's about time you two finally decided to get out of the damn supply closet, don't think your behavior will go undisciplined just because we're on foreign ground."

Anders would shift uncomfortably as the two remaining members of his team would cast their predatory gazes his way, his grip upon the heavy tome tightening as the Schnee sisters exchanged words and what supposedly passed for pleasantries between them.

Which apparently included a whack to the head for the younger woman.

"Silence you boob! I didn't ask about your marks, I asked you how you were doing: Are you eating well, have you made any friends?" Winter's expression would change to a warmer one as she looked at the two individuals standing beside her younger sister, even though she had already sent Anders to Vale ahead of time just to scope out the current security measures that General Ironwood had instituted in preparation for the Vytal Festival. _"Hmm, Casia's gone AWOL again. No doubt off on one of her quests to satisfy that bizarre pudding craving of hers."_ The older woman would wait patiently for the younger Huntress's response even as Weiss looked a tad flustered by the response.

"Well..there's Ruby." Weiss would gesture to her crimsonette-haired partner and leader of Team RWBY, who would simply smile and push in the lump that was forming on the younger Schnee's head with a giggle. "O-oh, and there's Anders here too..he seems like a good friend…in the making."

The shaggy-haired Huntsman would step back with a quick shake of his head in denial as he was looking for the closest exit out of this unbelievably tense situation. "What the heck, I LITERALLY JUST MET YOU WOMAN!" Luckily for him, Winter would dismiss his rushed inclusion into Weiss's circle of friends in favor of looking over Ruby with a shrewd and interrogative glare.

"Ruby Rose, somehow this is..exactly what I expected in terms of a leader." The elder Schnee would sigh even as the crimsonette did her best to curtsy and appease Winter's apparent lofty standards toward her. "Hmm it was my understanding that you would all be assembled here in my presence." Winter would fold her hands behind her back and look down upon Anders with an impatient glower, the raven-headed bookworm wilting under the weight of her gaze like a dying plant. "Well Mauve, what do you have to say for yourself?!"

Both Red and White would exchange brief looks of confusion before the cookie-loving Huntress would look over to the less-than-confident young man beside her, watching him take a definitive gulp of air before sighing and looking up at the pale-haired woman. "Andy, how the heck do you know Weiss's sister?" Her query would be met with a look of clear disdain from the bookworm as he clutched his tome tightly as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

 _"Dammit Evie…dealing with the boss lady was always your job."_ Anders would snap his fingers and summon a stand to rest his book upon before standing up straighter then his laid back demeanor would usually allow. "Second-class Ensign of the Winter Brigade, Anders Mauve at your service!"

Bálor would growl in annoyance as he caught a very familiar stench on the wind, it was one that belonged only in the depths of his memories as he and the pudding-fanatic Evie Casia made their way to Beacon's courtyard. _"That smell, that disgusting smell."_ The wolf Faunus would shake his head quickly as the bitter memories of his childhood began to bubble up to the surface, his muscles tensing in barely restrained fury as he heard an echo of the old man's voice.

 _"Impudent little shit, you're just as weak as your whore of a mother!"_ Instinctively his hand would go to his cheek as he felt the sting of the demon's leather belt, even though it was clearly a flashback that he found himself trapped in the pain was very much real to the amber-eyed soldier-turned-Huntsman. _"You'll never be as great a man as me, filthy little runt!"_ He could hear the whistle of air being cut as Jack readied his belt for another strike, raising his hand high overhead to deliver a devastating shot.

Only to hear a voice call out in the darkness of his horrid past.

 _"You need to stop!"_ The frightened wolf Faunus would recognize the lithe form of his mother, her own silver hair draped past her shoulders as she held the angry swordsman's belt-arm in place. _"Please sweetheart, compose yourself!"_ The silver-haired woman would be doing her best to restrain her husband's wrath while looking down at her wounded son. "Bálor!" A new voice would beckon to him, causing the scene in front of him to wash away and reveal that he was standing in Beacon's Courtyard with various individuals surrounded by an amber-colored glow and desperately trying to stay grounded. "You need to snap out of it!" The wolf would slowly shake off the nightmarish fog surrounding him as he looked down to see Ruby clutching his hands tightly even as the reaper herself was being lifted into the air slowly, somewhere along the way his Semblance had kicked in while he was suffering and was now trying to send everyone in the area away. "Bálor, please COME BACK TO ME!" Her voice would pierce what remained of the shadows of his childhood and bring him (and the poor souls captured by his ability) back down to solid ground.

"Ruby..? I…I don't know what happened-" The stunned young man would look around at the chaos surrounding them: many students were glaring at him in annoyance while slowly getting to their feet, Weiss on the other hand would be looking on in annoyance at a dark-haired older Huntsman. But just as he was about to question just what kind of situation he had somehow zombie-walked his way into, Ruby would hug the wolf Faunus tightly as her forehead rested against his abs. "…I hate that you're taller then me, I feel like such a kid when we're like this."

Bálor would smile sheepishly before pulling away from her huge and getting down on one knee, surprising a few individuals in the crowd before enveloping her in a hug of his own and feeling her lay her head down upon his shoulder. "There, all better." He would wince, feeling the crimsonette step on his foot in annoyance. "I get it, stop treating you like a friggin child." For a moment the two of them would be lost in the embrace, the world metaphorically falling away as they held one another as a pair of lovers would do when reuniting after a long period of time apart.

"Umm..excuse me, can I get some help here?" A meek voice would call out from the tree above the quiet couple, causing Bálor to remember that he hadn't exactly arrived here on his own. "Hello? Bálor..? Little red hooded girl..?" An amber glow would surround the brunette-haired worshipper of 'Maidens' as she would be safely lowered down to the ground while breathing an audible sigh of relief. "Wow, all that tension's given me a craving for pudding!" Evie would say this enthusiastically as she stood up and dusted off her dress.

"Is there anything that doesn't cause you to crave pudding Evie, I must've dropped at least forty Lien on your cravings back at the booth." The silver-haired wolf would sigh happily as her eyes simply lit up at the memory of four bowls of pudding without having to worry about money issues. "You're almost as bad as my little Rose here- OW!" He would grimace in agony as the crimsonette stomped on his foot once more, whimpering as he hopped around on his uninjured foot, leaving the dessert-loving nun completely lost at Ruby's sudden change in attitude before remembering one odd little detail of when Evelisse had met the wolf herself. "Ahh, you must be the cookie-loving girl that he was talking about." The brunette-headed woman would walk up to the crimsonette and smile politely as she held out her hand. "My name's Evelisse Casia, Evie for short.."

Evie would watch curiously as the crimsonette looked her up and down, even going as far as to walk around her in a circle as if trying to inspect her like a piece of meat.

"…Weird, I kinda figured all that pudding would go to your hips in some way…" Ruby would grin as the brunette looked down at her in horror at her remark, almost as if she were trying to decide whether she should be offended or not before the red hood smiled pleasantly. "Just kidding, so how do you know my boy- duhhhh I mean BEST BUDDY EVER!" The silver-eyed girl would laugh nervously as the new girl simply looked on in confusion (and slight worry) as she looked to the wolf Faunus just to make sure he hadn't heard any of her terrible faux pas, only to see him looking over at the courtyard quietly.

"Guys..we may have a problem here." The amber-eyed young man would frown at the scene that was slowly playing out before him, a disturbingly familiar scent lingering in the air as the Huntresses joined him.

Weiss Schnee couldn't possibly feel any more embarrassed then she did in that moment.

Firstly, there was the fact that her newest annoyance was in-fact was an undercover member of her sister's personal honor guard and seemed less then proud of that fact.

 _"To think this mangy shag of hair has a spot in Winter's honor guard, has she lost her marbles while I was away from Atlas or what?"_

Then, following that horrid reveal came a sudden outburst of telekinesis that had no doubt been caused by that blasted wolf Faunus. Especially since Ruby had decided to run off and investigate the matter, only for the sporadic floating to subside no more than a few minutes later.

 _"Of course it would end up being that idiot, it isn't like Goodwitch would lose her mind and try to telekinetically kill us all or anything."_

But perhaps the worst part of the entire ordeal was the strange drunkard who had ripped the head off of an Atlesian Knight with nothing more then his bare hands, and was now mouthing off to her sister while her so-called honor guard stood there without so much as drawing a single weapon.

"I see you're still getting rookies to do your dirty work Ice Queen, then again you rich types don't exactly enjoy getting your hands dirty now do you?" The raven-haired man would look upon the less-than-ready Honor Guard with disdain before stepping forward.

"Why aren't you people doing anything, my family's honor is being sullied and yet you three are standing there like useless DOLLS!" Weiss would go to unsheathe Myrtenaster, only to feel a firm hand upon her shoulder as Anders stood beside her while leafing through his tome with his free hand. "Let go of me right now you filthy mongrel!" The younger heiress was infuriated as she continued to try and draw her weapon despite his firm grip.

"Yeah, you're gonna wanna listen up here Schnee Jr. because you're obviously out of touch on how this Honor Guard crap works." Anders would stay quiet even as Winter drew her weapon, threatening to remove the man's tongue and grinning as her assailant simply gestured for her to bring it on. "We're not here to look out for your big sister's well being, nor are we here to stand up for the less-then-lofty ideals that the SDC uphold with every business decision." He would gently push Weiss aside as both Winter and the strange drunk went blow for blow even at high speeds. "Winter chose three of us for the simple fact that we managed to survive in a battle against her for three minutes, the last and missing member of our unit was the only one to successfully make _her_ yield."

Weiss would frown, realizing that if what he were saying were true: Then with the obvious exception of their leader, the remaining members were just basically meat shields for Winter's benefit. "How can you continue to serve her, knowing that there's a good chance that you may not come back whenever you go into the field?"

Anders would sigh and turn his head away slightly, slamming his tome shut as if he had done so a thousand times over. "Because, some of us have no other place to go." He would go quiet as Ruby, Bálor and, a slightly pale brunette would join them in watching the madness. "About time you got here Evie, thanks to you going AWOL and hunting for pudding I had to deal with the boss lady. Needless to say you're pretty much on everyone's shit list."

Ruby would look on in confusion as the two veterans moved faster then the eye can see, leaving the three newcomers at a loss over what was transpiring. "Weiss, what's going on?"

The heiress would sigh and explain the situation as best she could, purposely ignoring the part where their shaggy-haired friend revealed his true identity as she took notice of the brunette's sudden frown.

"Whoever this guy is, he's insanely strong..and drunker then my asshat of a father may he rot in Hell." The wolf would ball his fists and begin to fall back into the crowd when Ruby suddenly let loose a squeal of happiness, causing him to pause mid-step.

"GET HER UNCLE QROW!" Ruby would shout this even as her partner cheered for the man's opponent, causing him to stand beside Evie as the battle moved further down the courtyard as the two switched to firing bullets at one another.

"Oh I knew something like this would happen, my prayer beads are never wrong!" The pudding-loving Huntress would pull out her rosary and frown at the knots she would see, a clear-cut sign of troubling things to come for all of them. "I really wish Miss Winter did better to keep her temper in check, or at least waited until I came back!" They would all proceed to dodge the two frenzied warriors as the battle once again hit the ground running once again.

"Aren't nuns supposed to be pacifists?" The wolf would ask this offhandedly even as the older pale-haired woman was readying what looked like a very fast and powerful attack while the man called Qrow stood there with a confident smirk, as if waiting for her to strike him down. "He's really not gonna move?" As Winter sped in for a killing blow Bálor felt torn on whether or not to save this drunkard who also happened to be his closest friend's uncle, on the one hand he had a great dislike for alcohol and the poor souls who consumed it like it was their lifeblood..but it was also Ruby's UNCLE! _"Fuck it!"_ Reaching back to unsheathe his Shadow Waltz and go charging in to defend the man.

"Schnee!" The voice of General James Ironwood would pierce the tension in the air, causing the elder Schnee to stop her attack as she was dangerously close to Qrow's neck and Balor was in the midst of trying to make the save and sending him skidding to the ground in an embarrassed heap instead. "Oww, my face."

Ironwood would ignore the young man's whimpers of agony while walking over to his subordinate as the elder Schnee quickly stood at attention, unaware that Qrow was smirking at the scene playing out in front of him. "General, _he_ started the altercation!" Winter's voice would remain firm even as Qrow casually spoke up behind her.

"That's actually not true." This would continue on for a little longer as a clearly flustered Bálor slowly climbed back to his feet to find Ozpin and Goodwitch standing beside him, the amber-eyed young man would stay quiet as the two professors dispersed the crowd and repaired the damaged to the courtyard respectively.

 _"Man, this day just keeps getting more and more bizarre."_ Looking around he would see friends being reacquainted with loved ones, catching up with fellow teammates, or just generally enjoying the highs that came from watching a good day of battles. _"Makes me wish I had more people in my life to open up to in my own life…"_ The wolf Faunus would pick up his weapon and sheathe it, catching Evie talking excitedly with the two individuals in Winter Schnee's entourage as well as the strange young man that stood by Ruby and Weiss throughout the entire skirmish.

"You shouldn't dwell on dark thoughts." Ozpin would place a paternal hand upon the young man's shoulder, not minding the sudden yip of surprise that the wolf let loose. "My boy you've come a long way from being the human scalpel Vacuo tried to mold you into, and while things may seem lonely at certain points..never forget that you have a whole Academy's worth of family to call upon in times of need." The bespectacled man would start walking back alongside Goodwitch, the general, and a less than pleased Winter Schnee in toe, leaving his Faunus ward even more disheartened at the reunions playing out behind him.

 _"An academy's worth of family huh, I think he missed the part where all but a handful of them are dying to see me given das boot."_

Lady Moonlight would be listening to the sounds of a heated argument as she made her way up in the elevator, judging by what the scarred woman allowed herself to hear it would seem that Qrow had once again gotten himself into a spot of trouble. _"That man always did have a flare for showmanship, almost reminds me of Jack during his more sober days."_ The doors would open to an infuriated Winter who would glare daggers at the cloaked woman as the pale-haired woman entered the elevator as she exited it, quickly catching the eye of an exasperated Goodwitch as she did. "I see things are as lively as ever between you boys." An audible 'humph!' could be heard as Lady lazily leaned against the wall. "Hello to you too Glynda dear."

Qrow would groan upon hearing the fluttery, ditzy tones that belonged to the cloaked woman he thought he had left behind at the bar. "Godammit woman, do you insist on haunting me like some depraved necrophiliac wraith from Hell?!"

All eyes would suddenly shift to the red eyed drunk with more than a little sense of 'what the heck' that permeated the room thanks to his statement. "What, technically she's dead!" Ironwood would shake his head and turn back to Ozpin, who was now comfortably sitting behind his desk watching the general's holographic representation of the fleet he had brought with him "As I was saying before, my ships are a symbol of strength and because of this our enemies will know fear." The general seemed to truly feel pride at the holographic fleet floating above their heads, only for Qrow once again to prove to be the dissenting opinion between them all with an audible laugh.

"You really think our enemies will be afraid of your little ships, I've been out there..I've seen the creatures she's made and they are fear." For a moment, the two men seemed to tense at their differing conclusions, soundlessly daring one another to make a move before Ozpin spoke up. "And it is fear that brings forth the Grimm, wouldn't you agree Lady?"

The cloaked woman would go sour-faced underneath her hood before facing the group assembled before her, deciding instead to avoid his question entirely as she narrowed her amber eyes at the group. "Ozzie, you seem to forget that the Grimm aren't our only problem here..after all sweet little Autumn is-" She would stop as she felt Qrow's heated gaze upon her, but this would only cause her to grin despite the drunkard's less then obvious attempt to restrain himself from attacking the woman. "Was attacked in broad daylight while someone was getting himself all nice and tuckered up for the bar maiden that night, now if my blood had been asked to guard your dear Maidens then we wouldn't be having this conversation now would we dearies?"

Goodwitch would clench her teeth visibly at the hooded woman's words, neither woman particularly liked the other, especially given that Lady's current audacity mirrored the type of attitude she received from the woman's son up until recently. "If we were to leave something of this magnitude up to your tribe of nomads we would never see hide nor hair of them ever again!" Lady would let out a high pitched laugh at the crop-wielding Huntress's accusations before letting her yellow eyes shimmer beneath her hood.

"But Glynda dear, I assumed that was the whole point of your little Order: To keep the four most powerful women in our world today safe from prying eyes, who better to accomplish this task then a nomadic tribe like ours?" She would spread her hands outward as she slowly walked forward, staring down each member of the group as she did. "Unlike the good general here, we don't rely on pathetic metal dolls to survive, and because we're constantly on the move we're less then likely to be spotted..like certain individuals." Lady would sigh happily as she felt Qrow's sword at the back of her neck. "Oooh sweetie, it's a nice toy..but Jack's at least had style to them." She would quickly leap onto Ozpin's desk to avoid an attempt to cut her neck, turning back to the angered Qrow with a crooked smile. "You know what they say after all: It's not the size of the sword, it's how you use it."

To his credit, Qrow would snicker at the innuendo and gesture at her to 'come and get it'. "Tell you what Lady, why don't you come down here and I'll show you just how well I can use this sword of mine!"

The hooded woman would cackle in response to his taunt and lick her lips playfully at her opponent before skillfully leaping over him and landing right back at the elevator door. "Qrow..honey, I'm just too much woman for you to handle. Be a good boy and go back to wasting your impulses on the Schnee woman, she seems to be just the kind of thing that appreciates someone with such..obvious shortcomings." The elevator doors would open as Lady smiled triumphantly before making her exit.

 _ **Yeah so, Brawl in the Family was another of my so-so chapters (strictly my opinion) so I'm basically calling an audible and painting with broad brush strokes, to those of you who liked the episode: Great, fantastic, wonderful. But it just didn't do it for me, and while Dissonance falls in line with the canon of Volume 3, it's not a straight novelization. My OC's are involved, the events of the first few fanfics are mentioned and there will be chapters to cover the time that wasn't shown on-screen (although how I'm gonna cover Chapter 7 of volume 3 is a logistical nightmare) If this isn't your cup of tea, I completely understand.**_

 _ **The great thing about fanfiction is that there's something for everyone.**_


	10. Paint it Black

_**I'd say it feels good to be back, but I know what'll be waiting for me in the morning. Fans will be fans after all. At least this isn't as bad as Captain America turning out to be working for Hydra**_

 _ **RWBY pretty much belongs to Rooster Teeth now, Bálor to me, and any third parties belong to their respective parent companies.**_

Bálor would sigh as he looked up at Remnant's peculiar broken moon, stars dotting the night sky as he thought back on his journey up to now.

"Even with a new weapon, no Bullet Club, and a slightly less detestable attitude towards everyone here..nothing seems different, I'm just as big a stranger now than I was when I first came to this place." Shuddering slightly as the night air seemed to penetrate his sullen mood like a needle's prick, the wolf Faunus would reflect upon the very day his life went from being one of endless strife to whatever unfortunate mess he now found himself living in.

"On yer feet maggots, it's inspection!"

He hated morning inspection more then anything; despite the chow bordering on the tipping point between still alive and just cooked enough to pass for grade school mystery meat and the constant threat of murder or rape (or in some unfortunate cases, both.), cell inspection was perhaps the most degrading part of being back behind bars for Bálor.

 _"At least when I was a boy, I was dumb enough that the guards let the little things slide."_ He growled as he thought back on the sole position that he had during those early days inside Blackvale's iron walls, a yellow rubber duckie that would squeak whenever he squeezed it. To most children it was nothing more than the simplest of bath time playthings, fun to watch float and maybe even use as a substitute for a submarine but eventually discarded when one passed beyond the joy of bathing. But to the agitated young boy it was a source of comfort in an otherwise cold and imposing environment, often squeezing the toy whenever something frightened him which given the current situation made for a lot of squeak-filled nights. Almost none of the other prisoners would complain about it however, seeing as some actually had kids of their own and looked out for the young Faunus as if he were simply the son they never had. And those that dared to do so were quickly taught otherwise, they might all have been the scum at the bottom of Vacuo's social barrel but even the lowest dregs of society had rules.

Theirs were simple ones: Stick with your own kind (Human prisoners kept with humans, and Faunus looked after their own.) and don't mess with the younger prisoners under any circumstances. And while the first rule was often bent slightly to maintain peace within certain cell blocks when it came down to important deals between crime lords and those who ran trades of "certain goods", there was no getting past rule two whatsoever. Which made anyone sent to Blackvale convicted of crimes against children a literal dead man walking, it was the one thing that the guards would let go unpunished, no bribes required, no favors necessary.

At least until their new cell block warden, a sniveling little weasel of a man named Primrose Creed assumed the reigns of power.

"Fucking Creed's at it again." A rather stout bull-Faunus would glance over at Bálor as the pair were marched out of their cells, his head was shaved clean despite the apparent lack of access to razors and the like. "Claims that the White Fang's been smuggling their gear through here, even though most of us don't subscribe to what those bastards are preaching nowadays." The man would shake his head as he placed his palms against the wall, for a brief moment the wolf would catch sight of the renegade group's symbol and snort at the blatant hypocrisy behind his words.

"You talk of good game Khang, yet you're still flying their colors on your skin so I guess that means-" The amber-eyed young man would wince as he felt the business end of a nightstick strike his back, sending him down to his knees and biting back a howl of pain as he was hauled back to his feet by the guard who had no doubt struck him.

"Palms on the wall filthy mutt!" The man would sneer as the still-wounded wolf would comply with his demands before pacing down the line to continue his watch over the other prisoners, even as Khang grinned in amusement.

"Man, and here I thought you military types could stand up to anything." The bull would widen his grin upon seeing the hint of shock passing through the younger prisoner's amber eyes. "I recognized your tats from back in the day, guessing you and the army don't exactly see eye-to-eye these days do you? Well, it's the same with me and the White Fang." The taller man would sigh in relief as they were called back to their cells, sparing one last glance at the silver-haired youth before marching back behind the rusty bars.

"Management's a bitch, especially when it's new."

This pattern of inspection and minor chit-chat continued for weeks, seeing as their cell block was being denied their yard time thanks to Creed; as it turned out Khang Magenta was a former member of the White Fang during its days of peaceful protests and colorful speeches, he would often bring his young daughter Aubrey with him to such rallies in order to show her what good men often did when the world refused to treat them fairly.

Only raising their voices in anger and not their fists, he made sure his baby girl learned that true power came from the words inside their heart and that violence was never the answer.

"She was always looking around, listening to everyone speaking the truth and trying her harder to be as loud as they were. Sometimes she was the loudest one without even knowing it." The older bull would speak quietly, going silent whenever the guard passed by and waiting for him to walk a few prisoners down the line before finally picking up his tale. "Aubrey was like our own little ray of sunshine, we figured even if the guys upstairs wouldn't listen to us, there's no way they'd be heartless enough to ignore my little girl."

Bálor would nod slightly; finding it difficult for someone as stoic and massive as Khang to be a loving parent, but then again having a drunkard for a father would color his perceptions rather unfairly. "I bet those rich snobs still tried their damnedest to act like they were though." The two prisoners would share a chuckle before being ordered back to their cells once more. "Why doesn't she visit you more often Khang, I bet your little Aubrey could bring a smile to that old leather face of yours." The wolf would start to chuckle once again until he noticed the older man's face go ashen before contorting into a stone-faced glower.

"She's never gonna visit me kid…Because the White Fang killed my little girl in the name of their so-called justice!"

Yang would be enjoying the night air with Mercury as the two walked back towards the dorms in relative quiet, thanks to the Vytal Festival matches the couple hadn't had much time to themselves.

"You're awful quiet tonight spitfire, don't tell me that match you were in was that hard was it?" The silver-haired rogue would grin at the lighthearted jest, knowing that Team RWBY had little trouble dealing with their first round opponents thanks to what Emerald relayed back to him. However he would be greeted with silence as he looked over to see the blonde lost in thought, her normally vibrant lilac eyes dulled and troubled as she stared down at her boots. "Hey, you still with me here Yang?" The brawler would sigh before looking up at the confused Haven student before frowning.

"Mercury, I've been doing some thinking lately and..well, I'm not sure this is gonna work out too well." She was sure that her mind had finally fallen off the rails when the words left her mouth but before she could begin to right the ship and take back what she was saying, her heart would take over and continue on whatever strange mad trek that it had started on. "I know that we have a lot of fun together and everything but there's just nothing there, no spark..no..no…no va-va-voom!" Yang would facepalm internally at that last bit, especially given the fact that Mercury was now grinning like the cat that finally caught the canary. "Oh c'mon, now what's so funny?"

He would shake his head calmly as the blonde continued to fume visibly at her verbal flub.

"Seriously, va-va-voom? Is that even a thing?" Mercury would fight back a chuckle as she bristled at his question, pacing around her she continued trying to mentally reboot herself. "Not sure where all this is coming from, especially since you hit the nail on the head earlier: This is all just fun, just two people having a good time and not getting super serious about any of it." He would smirk as he started heading back towards the dorms while giving her a two-fingered salute. "Good luck with trying to wrangle back the mutt, especially since he's gotten all dark and broody lately." He would say this in a mocking tone before heading back inside and leaving her feeling even more troubled then when the day had first begun.

"What is it with silver-haired knuckleheads not being serious about ANYTHING?!" Yang could feel her temper rising to the surface as her eyes flashed red and her Semblance threatened to burst forward again when she noticed a cupcake floating down to her from the sky above, she could've sworn she was hallucinating the whole thing if it weren't for the amber hue surrounding the confection. "Okay, cross one thing off my bucket list." The brawler would mutter this before calmly taking the cupcake out of the air and into her hands, graciously peeling off the wrapper. "Thank you sweet and merciful cupcake fairy." She would take a bite of the previously levitating treat, unaware that its silver-maned gift-giver was now making his way back into his room and setting his weapon upon his back.

"This is all just fun, just two people having a good time and not getting super serious about any of it." He felt something in his heart give way when he had heard the silver-haired pretty-boy from Haven speak those words, a burning hatred that he had kept repressed for weeks just so he could keep laser focused on the task of completing the Shadow Waltz and moving forward with his own life. But seeing the blonde who once loved him left to stew in her own juices was the straw that broke the camel's back, Bálor knew that a simple cupcake would only warm her spirits for the moment but sometimes a moment was just enough for a complete moron like himself to prove that things had indeed changed for the better.

"Hey, Black!" The wolf Faunus would stare down at his brown-eyed tormentor with a look of disgust as the man's words once again played in his mind. "You've got a lot of nerve tossing aside a woman like Yang as if she were some day old pretzel!"

But Mercury would just smirk and hold up his scroll, signaling for the angry Faunus to give him a minute. "Oh hello pot, I got your kettle right here..he says you're black." He would quickly dodge an angered punch from the infuriated ex, the cock-sure grin never leaving his face before pushing the frenzied Bálor back. "Look man, I just followed up with what you were doing: having a little fun with someone like her before moving onto something better. Although in your case, I didn't think it would be a lolli-fetish-" The sound of metal clashing against metal would echo through the hallway as Bálor's sword would connect with Mercury's boot.

"I will fucking END you!" The wolf Faunus would snarl as he pushed forward with his attack, only to be greeted by the transfer student's other foot and stumbling back in surprise as Mercury readied himself for a proper fight.

"Didn't anybody warn you about letting your mouth write checks that your ass can't cash?" The silver-haired rogue would use his opponent's moment of confusion to score a second hit, courtesy of a roundhouse kick to the face that sent the ornery Faunus stumbling to the side as the obsidian blade went skidding further away from its owner. "Well then, allow me to give you the proper education you deserve!"

The wolf Faunus would roll away and quickly spring into a more traditional fighting stance that he had seen his former girlfriend use during sparring matches, despite the fact that he lacked both her experience and arsenal. "Welp, if that pudding loving nun was right and there are Maidens watching over us…I could really use a miracle right about now!" The two silver-haired young men would immediately begun to battle in earnest with Bálor throwing wild punches which Mercury easily dodged with a careful movement of his head before sending him skidding back with another kick to the gut.

"Wow; and here Yang said you were some kind of military trained badass, I thought the army taught their people to actually fight!."

His amber-eyed opponent however would simply grin and pop his knuckles upon returning to his feet, getting into a more comfortable fighting stance that he was familiar with instead of the one he had picked up from watching Yang. "Oh they did, I just didn't care for the old 'wait for the enemy to leave an opening and break the nearest joint' approach." Bálor would raise his fists and snort aggressively before charging in with a one-two combination before checking his opponent's kick with a strike to Mercury's shin, a move that caused more pain then it should have. "Are his greaves loaded with something?" The wolf would backpedal quickly as his opponent narrowly connected with a kick to where his temple would've been, flashing a cold grin before proceeding to continue his assault with a flurry of punches and kicks. "Them legs aren't normal!" He would grimace in agony as Mercury's knee connected with his gut and sent him flying back to the wall, knocking the breath from his lungs.

"Man you are beyond weak, and here I am thinking that this would be entertaining." The Haven student would slowly walk up to the gasping Faunus, taking a second to revel in just how pathetic his 'competition' turned out to be. "I guess when I'm finished here I'll go back and show Yang what a real man feels like, lord knows that if this is how you fight then I can't imagine things being any better in the bedroom." Mercury would laugh mockingly as he pulled the whimpering wolf to his feet up by his hair, enjoying the strained yet angered look upon his foe's face. "I can't imagine what either of those women see in you, you talk a big game yet every story I've ever heard involving you ends with somebody saving your ass!"

Bálor would groan in pain as he stared back into Mercury's eyes, knowing that he was hitting the mark with everything he had said thus far. "So what, you think that beating the piss out of me suddenly makes you any better when it comes to getting Yang?" He would chuckle slowly and painfully before forcing himself to smile, his eyes starting to glow softly as he continued to talk. "Hate to break it to you buddy, but my girl's not that stupid. I know that she's not the kind of ditz that gets impressed by sweet fighting moves and a pretty face, if that were the case then she and that fucking monkey would be a thing." The wolf would grin as Mercury's face went sour with annoyance before dropping him to the ground.

"Is there a point to this stupid little emo monologue of yours, or can I get I just go ahead and knock you out already?" The kick-happy young man had clearly had his fill of combat for the evening, and wanted nothing more then to finish him off and find somewhere to dump the body. "I do have better things to do with my night ya know."

"Two points..actually. The first is that no matter how well others train you, there's bound to be someone out there who can kick your ass." The exhausted silver-haired Faunus would bristle at Mercury's smug smirk of satisfaction as he nodded in agreement. "And the second-"

Mercury would quickly lash out with a kick, satisfied when he felt his boot connect with something solid before pulling back and admiring his handiwork. "God what an annoying little piece of garbage! At least now I can get on with my night once I get through with getting rid of the evidence." He would reach down to pick up the unconscious Faunus, not realizing too late that he was still sitting in the same position he had been in previously before despite giving him a kick to the skull hard enough to knock out an Alpha Grimm.

"Oh shi-" The mouthy transfer student was quickly sent flying back by a force of seemingly nothing but air before rolling to a kneeling position and charging forward with a somersault kick, only to be met by steel instead of bone.

"As I was saying previously, my second point: Is that Yang also taught me how to take a beating and keep on swinging!" With a snarl the injured young man would send Mercury flying back once again, but this time the wolf would pursue his prey and slash him in his other leg to only once again be met with the sound of metal striking metal. "So that's your gimmick!" The pair would quickly leap away from one another, but while one was trying to catch his breath, the other would take the opportunity to lash out with a kick that sent a Dust bullet flying towards the injured party. "Really, Shotgun Greaves? Is EVERYTHING somehow also a gun in this place?!" Bálor would yelp and roll away from the blast only to see two more headed for him once again. "Oh for fucks sake!" He would roll back towards Shadow Waltz and get to his feet while hoisting the somewhat heavy long sword into his hands. "Note to self: If I somehow survive this, go to Blake and BEG for her to help me re-balance this monster!" The wolf would do his best to stand strong against the arrogant Mercury but he was still pretty battered from his earlier injuries, and his sword being unbalanced certainly made his odds of survival even less optimistic.

"Stand down Mercury, I think the two of you gave a rousing enough show for one evening." Both silver-haired fighters would flinch in recognition of the voice surrounding them as Cinder Fall stepped out of the shadows, a satisfied smile resting upon her face as she stared into the wounded wolf's amber orbs with her own pools of amber. Even as the silver-haired pugilist seemed reluctant to follow through on her order.

"But he's still got some piss left in him, I thought-" Mercury would go quiet as the raven-haired woman stared back at him with a cold, mechanical glare.

"Don't think. Obey." She would state this in a hushed tone before turning her attention back to the injured Huntsman-in-training. "Return to the dorm room, this little one and I have unfinished business to attend to." She would reach out her hand to gently stroke his cheek in a comforting manner, even though her eyes remained cold and calculating as she watched his face contort into a grimace of pain.

"E-easy on the face, your buddy there did quite a number on me. Guess that's what I get for trying to play the white knight, that's more Jaune's thing anyway." Bálor would do his best to smile at his own lame attempt at a joke, an action that wasn't reciprocated by his current company. "Tough..crowd…"

"So you enjoy being ridiculed and mocked, stumbling around like a helpless clown while others take what rightfully belongs to you." Cinder would use her free hand to keep his gaze steady and focused upon her, her tone lowering a harsh whisper despite the gentle softness of her hands on his bruised face. "I thought you were going to become a man without fear, someone who walked the path of Cero Miedo."

The wounded Faunus would groan in a vain attempt to shake his head in disagreement at her statement. "The path you speak of..doesn't exist, fear is a part of what makes us human. It drives us forward to do things that the mind would deem impossible and to keep going despite our many failures, without fear we would be reduced to nothing more than mindless beasts intent on devouring one another to secure our place in the world." He would stop to take a breath and examine his bruised visage within the reflection of her eyes. "A person who embodies zero fear, who lives only upon the instincts of violence and destruction is no better than a creature of Grimm."

Her lips would twitch slightly before curling into a small smile, seemingly content with his answer before gently pulling her hands away from him as his eyes finally registered the outline of her aura upon then. "If that's truly what you believe than answer me one final question my pet: What is the fear that drives you to continue living in a place that clearly wants nothing to do with you?"

His heart would sink as the answer to this very question became blatantly obvious, flashes of his time spent joking around with Yang assaulting his mind before he finally summoned up the courage to answer her directly. "What I fear is a life of never-ending loneliness and suffering, I spent my childhood in isolation because of my surroundings and even when I was let loose upon the world it was merely to fulfill a role being dictated to me, instead of one built upon my own hopes and dreams." Bálor would stand slowly, the pain from earlier seeming to fade into the back of his mind as his recalled his next journey with Ruby. Awkward romance spots aside, it had turned out to be a fruitful one for the pair as they had learned much about each other during the course of their adventure. "When I was first brought into Beacon Academy I did whatever I could not to rock the boat and maintain the status quo set before me by those who had established them, but as time went on and I got around to opening up my heart and mind to those around me I started to feel the urge to leave my own mark upon these hallowed halls." Cinder would gesture for the young man to continue his tirade, lest he realize the change she had helped stir forth. "Please; do go on, I'm curious as to what changes tipped you out of favor with the good people of Beacon."

The wolf Faunus would ball his fists in anger as he remembered his treacherous path to becoming a social pariah, anger bubbling in his gut like some twisted black cauldron.

"At first it was just the little things, like taking mannerisms I had seen in the wrestling world and incorporating them into my lifestyle, then I decided to set my sights on a girl in this Dust-forsaken school and eventually ended up getting her after some less than comical happenings." He would hold up his hand to keep the raven-haired pyromancer from speaking further. "Then for some friggin reason I end up agreeing to accompanying her sister to visit the grave of dear old mom and somehow end up in some romantic bullshit with her, being labeled a backstabbing mutt, and DUMPED via text message before coming home to find my entire dorm room trashed by my ex! And if THAT wasn't bad enough, everyone I know is competing in the goddamn Vytal Festival while I'm forced to sit on the sidelines and watch while this grand spectacle of a tournament is happening!"

Cinder would watch the stubborn young man carefully, smiling in satisfaction as his own aura had finished patching up his injuries. "I'm sorry you've had to endure such hardships up 'til now my pet, rest assured that when your time comes you'll get everything you've rightfully earned." She would turn away to hide the cruel smile that appeared upon her face before beginning to head back to the dorm room she shared with Mercury. "Pleasant dreams, little one."

Finally left to his own devices, it would finally dawn upon Bálor that whatever pain he had been feeling earlier on was now gone. Instead his heart felt heavy and hollow as he began making the trek back to his ruined living space, wondering how he was going to explain the damage surrounding him as he took careful steps forward back to his dorm room.

"You're really just going to leave within letting me thank you for the cupcake?"

The wolf would stop short, recognizing the teasing voice coming from not too far behind him.

"You don't need to thank me honey, just a cupcake. Thought you might like it is all." It took everything in his power not to turn just to see her reaction to his sudden use of pet names. "Figured after the night you had, you could use a bit of a pick me up." This time he would turn to face the blonde brawler, surprised to find a cheeky grin upon her face as she made her way through the rubble.

"Suure you did, and I suppose the small disaster area behind me wasn't due to a knockdown drag out brawl you had with Mercury." Yang's cheshire grin would widen now that she was close enough to see the faint outline of a blush on his cheeks, she enjoyed rattling him like this on some level because it meant that he really did care about her.

"I-I may have taken umbrage with some things he said about you, I was just defending you out of friendship of course!" He could feel the heat rising up his face as her took a step closer toward him, her grin still present as he continued to show how flustered she was making him.

"Yeah, and I bet that you're blushing like a giant red tomato out of purely platonic thoughts running through your head right now aren't you honey?"

Bálor's blush was now in full effect as he fought like a madman to keep his mind from going to the gutter, completely missing the pet name she had turned around on him.

"In fact I dare say that you're dying to kiss me right now, and maybe even a few naughtier activities that are best left unsaid in a strangely echoic hallway." She would give him a stereotypical suggestive wink, finally sending the last of his resistance crumbling to the ground.

"It's because I NEED you alright!?" The wolf Faunus would fall to his knees, quietly sobbing as he stared down at her boots. "I need you Yang, and you're treating this all like it's a freaking joke to be laughed at."

Yang would sigh tiredly as she wrapped her arms around the emotionally exhausted young man kneeling before her, it wasn't an unfamiliar sight seeing as she had always managed to push him to the point of a breakdown. "I know it's not a joke Bálor, I've known that since the first time you slammed me up against a wall. Although, I was surprised you decided to drop a truth bomb on me with the latest one." She would smile gratefully as she began lifting him back to his feet before rolling her lilac eyes and just taking him into her arms bridal style, ignoring the sudden yelp of surprise that came from his mouth. "Oh give me a break, we both know you love it when I do this." She would look down to see him trying his best not to let himself smile at her remark and fail miserably as a bright smile burst forth like the shining rays of the sun. "You realize this means that I win right?"

Bálor's expression would switch to one of confusion as she continued their slow trek back to his dorm room. "I didn't think we were in competition over…wait, what were betting on?" He would look up to see the blonde grinning triumphantly as the soft glow of the moonlight behind her caused her golden locks to shimmer angelically, it was enough to take his breath away.

"We had an unspoken bet on how long you would crack before we got back together again." She would pause to kick down the door to his dorm room with gusto, even as the silver-haired young man bristled in her arms.

"Goddammit Yang!"

He would find himself staring at the walls of Blackvale prison, palms placed firmly on either side of him as the guards continued tearing their cells apart as he tried to absorb the heavy implications of what Khang had laid upon him.

"Killed..by the White Fang?" The amber-eyed prisoner would stare at his hulking counterpart in shock as he tried to get him to continue his tale, his eyes trying to ask the question that words couldn't properly form. "Why?"

"Once that new young punk Adam Taurus came into power everything changed, what were once peaceful protests calling for peace became nothing more than thinly veiled insults against the humans." Khang would do his best to keep his voice low as the guards voices raised in volume, a clear sign that they had either found something or were dangerously close to doing so. "Then the attacks started, we barely had working Molotov cocktails while they had fully automated soldiers. We never had a chance! My little girl's dead because some idealistic little shit chose the gun over spoken words!"

The bull-Faunus would shudder as he tried to hold in the anger that he had long since buried in the depths of his soul, his fingernails digging into the concrete wall as one of the guards called out for assistance as one of them waved a hollowed out bible containing a silver flask and a faded photo of the hulking prisoner with a delicate looking little girl in his arms.

"Contraband, we got alcohol and personal effects-" The guard in question would cry out in pain as Khang Magenta finally snapped, and smashed his hands down upon the man's cranium with a Polish Hammer as he grabbed the photo from the bible and quickly threw it back in his cell before starting to beat down on the guards attempting to restrain him. "I already lost my Aubrey to the White Fang, I won't let you take what's left Creed!"

With that one act of defiance, a simple inspection turned into an all-out melee as prisoners and guards clashed in a flurry of fists and nightsticks, cries of pain and screams of vengeance littering the air as Bálor did his best to contribute to the skirmish by attacking whichever guard was closest to him. And by the time Cell Block Warden Primrose Creed finally entered the area, most of his men were either beaten down or backed against the wall by the men they were supposed to be in control of.

"What is the meaning of this, you fools had one job and yet you fail miserably at that!" The weasel-faced man would stare down at the mob scene below him, just as their enraged bull Faunus leader was climbing the railing towards the man who led their tormentors.

"Creed! Today's the day we finally rise up and take back our dignity, we may be prisoners but even we deserve to be treated like something more then fucking cattle!" Khang would cry out as he leapt towards the warden with a passionate fury as the men roared with an equal fervor, only for the sound of a single gunshot to break the atmosphere as Creed lowered his pistol to watch the now headless prisoner plummet towards the ground.

"Now see here, I am a man of fair means..if you follow my rules then I assure you that your stay here will be a pleasant and relatively painless one." He would holster his weapon before glaring down at the hushed sea of faces, before finally settling on the headless corpse that had once been Khang Magenta. "But follow in this man's example and a worse fate awaits you, be grateful that this man received the dignity of a bullet through the head. Now release my men and return to your pigpens my delectable little hams!" The stunned convicts would reluctantly do as they're told, wondering just what could be worse than a bullet to the head.

For Bálor however, he would retrieve the photo of the now-deceased father and his daughter with his Semblance before glumly walking back into his cell, it wasn't until lights out that he would pray forgiveness for his actions (or rather, his lack of action.)

 _"..ake up!"_

 _"Wake…Bálor!"_

 _"Having…Nightmare…-ake up baby!"_

Finally bolting awake with an audible gasp, the wolf Faunus could feel the sweat dripping down his forehead as he looked around at his ruined dorm to see Yang standing over him with a concerned look upon her face.

"Yang…you're..you're really here." He would immediately reach over to embrace the blonde, only to feel her palm keeping him from wrapping his arms around her.

"Yeah, but apparently I don't measure up to whomever this 'Aubrey' woman is." She would frown deeply as she made her way towards the now barely standing door of his dorm room.

"She's the daughter of a guy I knew back in prison, didn't even get a chance to live a full life before the White Fang caused her death." He would state this bluntly as she prepared to leave, causing the jealous brawler to stop in her tracks as she looked back at him in surprise.

"Impossible, the White Fang aren't exactly petty thieves like Roman Torchwick's guys but they sure as hell aren't child murderers!" Her eyes would briefly flash red as her thoughts shifted towards her Faunus partner Blake Belladonna, who unbeknownst to the wolf was a former member of the White Fang and ever since the incident outside the hospital wing a few months ago were teetering on a very tentative truce of nonaggression. "Where's your proof B?"

The sleep-deprived wolf would look up at her with a solemn look upon his face as he tried to think of a diplomatic way to frame death, giving up as she began to open the door once more. "I learned it from her father, who witnessed his daughter get mowed down by Atlysian gunfire because the White Fang just couldn't keep it peaceful. And the sick irony of it all was that he too met his own end thanks to a fucking bullet!" He would go silent, letting Yang absorb what he had just told her and staring down at his hands. "I'm not sure why I started thinking of them tonight, but I'm glad I did because it made me remember the promise I made the day that Ozpin sprung me from Blackvale."

The blonde would take a knee, careful to avoid the debris as she looked into his bloodshot eyes and urged him to continue. "What did you promise Bálor: To find their killers, live a better life as a free man?"

He would sigh and avert his gaze from her lilac eyes before finally deciding to answer her.

"I already know who's responsible for their deaths and if it weren't for Ozpin and Goodwitch keeping a leash on me with their stupid psych evaluations they'd be in Hell already!" The silver-maned Huntsman would fight back a sob as he tried to banish the last vestiges of his nightmare away by shaking his head. "I promised myself that if I ever had a daughter then I would name her after Aubrey, it may seem stupid but she was that man's world and it was unjustly taken away by two groups of people who are so busy trying to kill each other that they don't care who gets caught in the crossfire!" His amber eyes would glisten with tears as he spoke with a passion, causing the blonde to reach for his trembling hands and hold them in hers. "I may not be able to get revenge for their deaths, but I can make sure that everything Aubrey meant to Khang would be carried on in my daughter someday."

Yang was truly left at a loss for what he had told her, it seemed like he was planning to one day start a family all his own with a daughter fitting in there somewhere.

But if they were together like she herself claimed, would the brawler truly be ready to meet such a challenge given that her biological mother had left her and her father in the lurch while her stepmother met an unfortunate end in the line of duty?

 _ **It's 3 A.M.**_

 _ **Do you know where Yang's mother is?**_


	11. Last notice

_**Alright, it seems the community's gotten their panties in a bunch. And short of blowing up my inbox with your curse laden rhetoric and attempts at slander (seriously, comparing my writing to an autistic child's? That's just slander on the kid.)**_

 _ **It's getting a re-work but after this? No more redo's no more notices! I got better things to do!**_


	12. Still of the Night

_**I have no words, just know that I gave it my best shot.**_

 _ **RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth**_

Lady Moonlight would smile slightly as she watched the young couple hold each other in the darkness of a ruined dorm room, sighing happily as she lowered the night vision goggles she had bought prior to her infiltrating Beacon's walls. "A pity, I figured he would follow his father's example and traipse around in the rose garden. Though I suppose intelligence could skip a generation." The silver-haired woman would smirk as she felt the edge of cold steel upon the back of her neck once again.

"Both of my nieces are too good for your little mutt." Qrow would grit his teeth as he kept his sword planted grimly against the cloaked woman, his red eyes metaphorically burning holes through the back of her skull. "Now why don't you finally be a decent parent and hit the skids with him?"

 _"Nieces?"_ With a quiet smirk Lady would quickly roll forward and fire a few shots with her Dust Pistol, before removing her cloak and drawing the double-sided glaive she had been using since her own days as a Huntress. "You said Nieces, plural. Yet only one of them resembles Summer." She would pause to block Qrow's slash before starting to push him back, the gears in her head meticulously working as she compared the blonde girl who was embracing her son at that very moment to the one person who pissed her off more than her late husband did.

"It's not adding up here my fine, feathered antagonist. And from what I remember of that dullard Taiyang, he didn't strike me as the type to just sleep with a stranger!" Lady would wince as she felt his blade strike her arm and leave a very annoying gash, causing her to take a step back and take stock of the situation before her. "I suppose this is what I get for multitasking during a scrap, especially when the answer seems disturbingly obvious." She would sidestep Qrow's attack, leaning in to sniff the air around the man with a disgusted scowl. "Really, cheap rum doesn't suit someone of your caliber you dirty birdie!"

Qrow would growl in annoyance and continue to press the attack, even as Lady simply danced and sashayed around him while swaying her hips with a cheeky smile. "Hmph, it's pathetic how you pretend to be this pretty young thing when we both know that no man will take you after seeing that hideous scar on your face!" The black-haired man would smirk as the woman snarled and started slashing at him recklessly, blocking her strikes with ease before sidestepping another slash with a flourish before ending with an 'Olé'.

"Seems to me like I stepped on a nerve there woman, now you know how it feels when you mock someone close to your heart!" He would smirk and ready his sword for another rush when he finally heard her soft laughter beginning to grow into a maniacal cackle, which stopped abruptly before giving the Signal instructor a cold smile.

"So tell me Qrow, just how is Raven doing these days?"

"What the hell were you thinking going after him by yourself, you could've been killed you idiot!" The glaive of Marigold Amaranth would clang loudly against the familiar steel of Raven Branwen's sword, the silver-haired amazon would snarl as the masked female barely had to move in order to deflect her attacks. "You people don't know these deserts like we do-" Mari would go silent as she found the woman's sword leveled at her throat, a flash of red being seen through the eyes of the mask as she felt the tension amongst her fellow tribes-women.

"What's there to know, we're stuck in a giant sandbox Hunting for some bureaucratic weasel instead of hunting down Grimm! We're Huntsman dammit, not the Council's bounty hunters!" Raven would grit her teeth behind her mask as she looked around at the circle of women surrounding them, each of them holding a different but peculiar kind of weapon ranging from chakrams to slingshots armed with blast and ice Dust crystals.

It hadn't been the first time Qrow had seen the two women at one another's throats; it had been an unfortunate happening for him since Team STRQ had encountered the tribe of female nomads. But ever since their first meeting in the deserts of Vacuo over a month ago during the course of a mission to hunt down a diplomatic fugitive from Vale, only to have the Vacuan team accompanying them mysteriously called away on a different mission entirely and leaving STRQ to wander the deserts of Vacuo without guidance.

At least that was until they were found upon the verge of dehydration by this enigmatic tribe.

"Ladies, we're all friends here remember?" Summer Rose would laugh nervously as she tried to step in-between the two combative females, trying her best to keep a smiling face as she was once again forced to play peacemaker as the boys hung back. "Mari, you've been a tremendous help to us thanks to your tracking squads. Not to mention how you've managed to help us avoid those weird antlion Grimm."

Taiyang would thoughtfully stroke his chin as he and Qrow watched their leader try to diffuse the tense situation surrounding them as he leaned in towards the scythe wielder. "Are we sure those Antlion Grimm even exist, we haven't really one into any since we've been out here."

Qrow would roll his eyes as he watched his sister carefully, her hand was still clenching the handle of her katana and scoping out her surroundings like any trained warrior would. "That's kind of the point Tai, these ladies seem to know the ins and outs of this little sandbox."

Raven would sigh and go to sheathe her blade, but not before shooting her crimsonette-haired friend a glare. "You're too soft Summer, heaven help us if these scavengers end up walking us into a trap." The ebony-haired woman would groan as Summer simply returned her jibe with a kind-hearted smile, even as the silver-haired woman lowered her own weapon in kind. "Kindness is a great attribute to have for a mother with a newborn child, but out in the battlefield it's a one-way ticket to a grave."

Marigold would giggle quietly, the sound echoing off of the walls of the cave enabling everyone to hear and causing Raven's eyes to blaze to life once more. "I find it hilarious that a cold-hearted wench like you seems to think you know what it takes to be a mother, you who seem to enjoy acting alone despite being a part of a well established unit. You behave like a beast who is threatened and trapped into a corner, I pity any child who ends up being raised in your care for they will either raised in a house of loneliness or thrown to the wolves in order to insure her mother's survival." She would smile as she backed away into the throng of her fellow nomads before Raven could try and attack the woman once again while Summer watched on helplessly, leaving Qrow to turn to Taiyang who had since long retreated to find and perhaps even comfort his teammate.

Qrow however would walk over to a clearly dejected Summer and place his hand upon her shoulder gently, giving her a lopsided smile even as she pouted as they watched the women disperse into their usual little groups. "Don't feel so blue little Rose, you gave it your best shot. But take it from somebody's who's spent the majority of his life with the woman: She's not exactly the kind of person I see waking up at the crack of dawn and comforting a crying child or standing in front of an oven making cookies, I think that's more your speed."

Summer would blush hotly at this remark, not expecting the normally sour-pussed scythe wielder to give such kind-hearted words and laughed nervously once more. "Aww c'mon Qrow, I mean it would be nice to have a little girl of my own one day but too soon man."

Qrow would spare her one last glance towards his hooded comrade before heading to the entrance of the sandy cave, not expecting Marigold to be waiting for him. "What, here to lecture me on my future parenting skills as well?" The silver-haired woman would simply smirk as he just narrowed his eyes, reveling in his palpable irritation.

"That depends, are you ever going to admit that your bond with the one called Summer extends past mere camaraderie?" She would sigh as he backed her up against the cave wall with his hand gripped on her throat angrily, however her eyes would still shine with the light of amusement. "You love her dearly but you have yet to voice your words-" Marigold would gasp as she felt her airway being constricted by his grip, but her eyes would refuse to lose their luster.

"Don't you dare attempt to speak on things you know nothing about savage!" Qrow would keep glaring at the woman before feeling a jolt of pain in his nether regions as he was forced to release his grip. "You were wrong..about my sister, and you're wrong…about me and Summer!" He would watch as Marigold carefully paced around him like a lioness circling her prey, wondering if she had the audacity to try and kill him with his teammates nearby.

"If there's one thing I know well it's how to read women: Your sister would make an excellent addition to our Hunting Parties, her lone solitary nature would make her an ideal candidate for hunting the Antlions slumbering beneath our feet. However if I were to add a new woman to our ranks, then Summer Rose would be the ideal person to do so." She would kneel down and lock eyes with the man, knocking that she had very little time to play with him further. "Unlike Summer though, I would be proud to someday bear a daughter of my own to carry on our proud lineage." She would leap back as Qrow's massive scythe unfolded, losing a few strands of silver as he stood up ready to fight.

"What, are boys not worthy to carry on your crazy little lineage that you're got going here?" He would grin as he gauged the woman's movements quietly, her hand hovering near the handle of her glaive. "Go ahead and try, you'll be pulling back a stump."

Marigold would hiss quietly, knowing he wouldn't bat an eyelash at literally disarming a woman. "Expulsion." She would sigh as the scythe-wielding Huntsman gave her a puzzled look. "That's the price that the women of our tribe pay for baring an inferior being; for while we may not have any qualms using men to procreate, we have little use for their stupidity within our ranks."

Qrow would continue his impromptu scuffle with Lady on the nearby roof next to the dormitory buildings, sparks flying as metal bit into metal with neither side giving way as both sides backed off to gain distance.

"Guess your so-called lineage isn't so perfect anymore is it Lady, it's actually amazing that the two of you managed to survive in that Hell of a desert." The Signal instructor would sigh audibly as he felt the first drop of what could be a very miserable and dreary night for the man. "Is that why you sold your own son to the military, because he ruined your little plans for some Amazon dynasty?" Qrow would glare at the woman as he moved in close for a well-timed strike.

Lady would grin maliciously as she deflected Qrow's straightforward attack while holding back a second cackle, it had all clicked in her head upon recognizing the blonde's hairstyle and she loved it: Not only hadn't her son deviated away from his father's path of being infatuated with a Rose, but the fact that he had grown close to Raven's daughter meant that it was only a matter of time until he too felt the sting of a Branwen betrayal. "He was a weak, pathetic little whelp of a boy! Constantly clinging to my skirts while his father pined for the one he lost!" She would glare at the sword wielding man, still seeing flashes of the young man who had accosted her in the desert caves of Vacuo nearly two decades ago.

"Still, you have to consider the circumstances my drunken little rat with wings, my son with your sister's daughter: This is utterly perfect, I couldn't have planned it better myself!" She would let loose another cackle before spinning her glaive and catching her opponent's sword in the hollow of her blade. "What's the matter dearie, rum finally getting to your head?" Qrow would just snarl before letting his sword fall from his grip and clocking her with a headbutt of all things. "Gah! That's dirty pool Qrow, even for you!"

The veteran scythe-wielder would retrieve his sword without fear but not without giving the scarred nomad a clear look of disgust. "You're one to talk, it's almost as if you're getting off on your own son's perceived misfortunes. Yang's nothing like her mother, she's loyal to those who give her the same."

Qrow would sling his sword over his back and turn away from a still somewhat giddy Lady Moonlight, preparing to head back inside as the chill of the night began to set in. "I may not like your boy Lady, but even I know he's in good hands as long as he's got Yang in his corner." He would begin walking back inside the halls of Beacon Academy, leaving Lady to her own devices as she went back to spying on her sleeping son.

 _"You Branwens, thinking that everything you do will benefit others in the long run without thinking it through completely."_ Her expression would turn into a sneer as she noticed that the blonde was now gone from his bedside, further cementing her previous argument with Qrow. "Always prowling about on your own and playing the brooding silent hero in the face of the public, but it's in the darkness where your true loneliness always lies." The silver-haired amazon would sigh as she closed her eyes and let the rain wash over her, cooling and soothing her stiffened muscles after her brief run-in with the Branwen male. _"If I had only made it to Vale sooner, then perhaps Amber would still be with us..and this perpetual crawling in my skin would finally cease."_

Yang would sigh as she angrily splashed water on her face, she knew that he was outside waiting on her presence and for her to hold him once more and reassure him that things would be alright. "I should have just been up front with him from the beginning, instead I just fell back onto old habits and now he's waiting for me to start things back up again." She would keep her voice as quiet as she possibly could, Oobleck's Faunus history classes had taught her that Faunus had enhanced senses and unless the wolf had gotten back into listening to moronic podcasts again there was a decent chance that he was sitting there in silence.

"I need to make things right and close the book on "us", we've had some good times but at the end of the day…" The brawler would shake her head quietly knowing ranting to herself wasn't going to fix the situation at hand, she had to face him and set the record straight. Knowing this; she would exit the washroom and see him staring out at the broken moon of Remnant, if he had heard any of her little self pep talk he showed zero sign of it.

"Bálor, we need to talk..actually it's more like I need _you_ to listen." The silver-haired Faunus would turn to look at her, his amber eyes dulled and half open but gesturing for her to speak nonetheless. "About the things I said back there in the hallway, I was just trying to cheer you up..you'd already taken a beating physically and I didn't want to…" Yang would sigh in frustration as she tried to collect her thoughts, she had had no problem convincing Blake to slow down her dogged pursuit of the White Fang almost a year ago and was a constant source of semi-motherly advice whenever her sister decided she had need of it.

"So you lied to me?" He would state this bluntly as he rubbed tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes and peered into hers, but the brawler would keep a straight face despite his accusation and continue onward.

"We both know that if we were to even begin to get involved again that it won't end well, we're two different people: You want to be the kind of guy who settles down and raises a daughter, maybe even find a decent job as an instructor like my dad and uncle. But I'm a thrill seeker, an adventurer, I just can't see myself as the kind of woman who stays in the house and takes care of the motherly duties. I just can't do it." Yang would stop speaking, looking calmly at the now wide-awake wolf Faunus sitting before her, he hadn't so much as twitched as she had spoken her peace. "Bálor…? Are you alright?" She would reach out to touch his cheek gently, only for the young man to grab her wrist gently while shaking his head calmly.

"You wanted me to listen so you could speak your peace, I have listened…I've done everything you have ever asked of me and this is what I get as my reward: We're too different, we shouldn't be, let's just call it off." Bálor would take a slow, tired breath before activating his semblance and pointing towards the door as it opened with a whiny squeak.

"Yang..no, mayhaps I should call you miss Xiao Long instead..I'd like you to leave my room please." His voice would be measured yet quiet, like a lawyer addressing their client in an interview. It was something he usually saved for his psychological evaluations with Ozpin and Glynda, it helped him appear more calm and collected then he actually appeared during their sessions. But Yang would only see a light turn off in her now-former boyfriend's eyes, as if he had suddenly regressed to being the stranger that Ruby had watched from a distance during his first days at Beacon.

Yang would nod glumly as she stood up and grabbed her boots as she walked toward the open door, wanting to look back and let him know that they would always be friends but deep down she knew better than to try and placate him in his current mood so she left without another word and began her trek back to the RWBY dorm.

 _"I did say that I wanted to close the book on "Us" after all."_

Ruby Rose would be laying in her bunk, looking down at her notebook, full of private thoughts and wishes for her future, weapon ideas for future additions to Crescent Rose and diagrams of a weapon that was still left un-forged.

"Can't sleep?" Ruby would yelp and go to hide her notebook as her partner and heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation would pop up beside her, catching a glimpse of her notebook and narrowing her eyes shrewdly. "What's that?" Weiss would point to the notebook curiously even as the crimsonette closed it too quickly for the older girl's taste, causing her to frown in suspicion as Ruby laughed nervously before stashing it under her pillow.

"Shouldn't you be resting Weiss, you and Yang might end up being picked for the Doubles Round after all. Yang would be pretty steamed if you showed up sleep deprived." Ruby would smile slightly, imagining the older blonde losing her temper and giving the heiress a red-eyed lecture on showing up in less than fighting shape.

"Yeah, well than she'd pretty much be a hypocrite if she did that." Weiss would say this as she pointed to Yang's empty bunk, the covers still messy and unmade from the night before. "I suppose she and Mercury are having a bit of a nightcap, hopefully she can at least catch a few hours of sleep when she gets back from canoodling with that silver-haired moron." The heiress would frown, not liking her teammate's preference in men and how she dealt with them. "I just don't get what she sees in either of those idiots, Mercury seems like a bit of a snob to me..at least when he's not sniffing boots like a loon. And as for the **other one.** " Weiss would go silent as she remembered the hardened look in his amber eyes, binding her to a deal that he could execute at any time he wished, she had spent almost a year walking with a metaphorical sword of Damocles hanging over her head.

Ruby however knew none of this, so when her partner mentioned the wolf Faunus she would frown curiously before sitting up fully. "He's not that bad ya know, it's just very hard for him to trust people given what happened to him in the past." She would pull out the notebook with the chibi-fied wolf resting in a bed of roses on the cover and open it to a weapon diagram she was very familiar with. "Although, when he does trust you..that's when you truly see just how sweet he can be."

Weiss would carefully perch on the edge of Ruby's bunk and look down at the diagram: It looked like a regular sword, no different then the crystalline swords that they had discovered back when he unsuccessfully tried bequeathing the weapons to Team RWBY.

"So..for you "Sweet" means being a dork for weapons too?" The heiress would giggle as Ruby fumed at the backhanded comment, only for the crimsonette to turn the page and reveal the weapon's secondary form to be a heavy chain, although Weiss would catch sight of a note that read "Blast Dust = Superheated?". "So it's a sword and a bike chain..? That makes no sense at all you know, there's no projectile accessibility and it'd be useless if it were knocked out of his hands."

Again, this would earn a giggle from Ruby as she pointed to the page next to the chain diagram. "We thought of that too, so I figured if we made it segmented then he would be able to control them with his Semblance..provided he keeps a cool head during battle." The reaper would frown as she closed the notebook and returned it to her hiding place, sighing as she looked back at her partner curiously. "Weiss…why do the two of you hate each other so much?"

The heiress would bite her lip gently, knowing that if she were to answer her partner's question genuinely that it would open a can of worms between them that would leave her off of her game mentally.

"I think you two would be pretty awesome together if you were finally able to get along." Ruby would smile wistfully as she spoke, unaware of the heiress's horrified look at the thought of any kind of involvement with her secret tormentor. "I can just see it now: the two of you fighting side by side in a flash of black and white, your swords cutting through Grimm like a Monochrome tornado."

Weiss would breathe a sigh of relief as Ruby continued to describe how awesome that the duo could be if they fought together, eventually falling asleep as the crimsonette continued to describe and hope for more peaceful times between them all once the Vytal Festival was over.

By the time Ruby had finished talking, Yang had returned to the dorm to find the crimsonette tucked her partner into the reaper's bunk. The two siblings would share a quiet look, nodding silently as the both laid down in their bunks, as much as Yang wanted to tell her sister what had happened earlier she knew it would just cause Ruby to worry and spend the night wondering how she could fix it.

 _"It's better that she doesn't know, after all I know he'll at least give her the kindness that a good friend deserves."_

Evie would be kneeling at the side of her bed in quiet prayer, even at this late hour her heart would be filled with worry. The Vytal Festival had enabled her to meet people of different walks of life, and like any woman of faith she would pray for their continued health and happiness.

 _"Oh Maidens, please look upon the people of Remnant and bless them with your divine grace, give food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, and peace to those with troubled hearts."_ The brunette would finish her prayer with a silent "Amen" as she stood up and pulled back the covers to her bed, only to hear a quiet knock upon her door before she could settle in for the night. "Who is it?"

A quiet sigh could be heard from behind the door. "It's Anders, have you got a minute? I have..spritual troubles." She could just imagine her scruffy-haired friend with a frown upon his face, the thought of her troubled teammate causing her to nearly tumble out of bed before finally opening the door.

"Thanks Evie, this will only take a moment." The brown-eyed guardsman would catch sight of her pentacle and raise an eyebrow. "I've never seen you wearing that before, is that..actual silver?"

Evie would nod happily as she pulled out a chair and gestured for him to sit as she settled onto the edge of her bed. "I usually keep it tucked into my clothing, unless I'm praying to the Maidens of course." She would frown slightly as she tucked the Pentacle back inside her nightgown. "So what is troubling you, you're usually the most calm out of the four of us."

Anders would sigh as he looked down at his fidgeting hands, turning pages in a tome that he wasn't carrying at the moment. "I..I think I may have finally found the man that I was looking for, he was competing in the team battles yesterday and..he was glorious!" He would then go on to describe the debonair actions of Team SSSN's Scarlet David, his eyes shimmering with excitement as he compared the red-headed man to the swashbucklers of old. "Oh if I could only get him to notice me, and then..then..well that's how far I thought ahead really."

The brunette-haired girl would smile, feeling genuine happiness for her closeted comrade. "I'm happy that you've found someone you fancy Anders, but..how is this a spiritual matter?" Her smile would fade as she noticed his hands flipping imaginary pages once again, her friend was almost never seen without his tome as it was akin to a security blanket for him. "I think I understand..you figure since our fellow guardsman mock you for your preferences, you're wondering if the Maidens would act in a similar fashion."

The scruffy-headed Huntsman would sigh and turn to her with a look of doubt in his eyes, his hands flipping through non-existent pages faster and faster.

"Can you blame me, Kaiser and Puru are two of the biggest bigots walking upon Remnant! The Faunus, Huntsman, Huntresses! It's like those two hate everybody who isn't an elite like they are!" His forehead would be beaded with sweat as his hands cramped up visibly, causing the young man to wince in pain. "If normal people like them can't accept me for who I am, then what chance do I have with deities?"

Anders would stand up slowly as he began heading for the door, pausing to look back at his one and only friend. "Thanks for hearing me out Evie, even if the Maidens won't help me..I can sleep a little better knowing that my best friend will always have my back." He would leave the room before she could give him a proper reply to his query, deciding instead to kneel once again at her bedside in hopes that his hidden dream came true.

The next day would prove to be a very pivotal one for spectators of the Vytal Festival as the long-awaited Doubles Round was finally slated to commence, and while many of the participants and Audience Members were busy filing into Amity Arena to begin a day of battle-fueled festivities there were others who were still in transit, hoping to make landing without missing too much of the fighting.

But for one peculiar redhead, the Vytal Festival was the furthest thing on her mind as she literally bounced in her seat excitedly. Her azure eyes focused on a faded photo of herself standing side by side with her fellow soldiers, giggling at just how goofy her younger self's smile appeared.

 _"Finally, after three years I finally get to see my Captain again!"_ The anticipation running through the young woman's body was enough to literally make her seat vibrate, annoying the passenger next to her who gave an angry harrumph in her direction only to be rewarded with an even more intense vibration.

 _"Oh I hope he's doing Vale proud in the fights, I just know that he's probably planning to whip a lot of ass with those eight blades of his!"_ The red-headed girl would squeal excitedly as the pilot signaled for all passengers to fasten their seatbelts and prepare for landing, even as the heavyset man sitting next to her growled audibly at her childish behavior. Once the passengers were allowed to disembark, she would present her identification to the security guard for her line at the terminal and raising a curious eyebrow as she bounced from foot to foot in excitement.

"One too many drinks there?" He would look down at her ID shrewdly before sighing audibly. "You do realize you could've used the Dignitaries Express Line don't you, Lieutenant Sundown?" He would hand her back her identification as she waited impatiently for her bags to clear the X-ray inspection.

"Well I would've if I were here representing my kingdom, but I'm not here as a soldier of Vacuo..just plain 'ol Gemmy Sundown ya hear?" The redhead would smile brightly at her fellow soldier, who looked none too pleased at her chipper attitude. "Besides, I'm just here to visit an old friend. My Captain actually."

The guard would simply sigh in irritation as her smile continued to wear at his nerves before finally getting an idea. "Miss Sundown, we've determined by the contents of your baggage that you qualify for additional screening." He would smile internally as the redhead's smile crumbled into a look of shock, signaling to the guard off to the side who was visibly slipping on a latex glove. "Can you come with me please?"

After an unusually thorough search of her belongings, an hour's worth of questioning, and a strip search that she wished she could wipe from her mind with Lava Soap, Gemmy would finally step outside of the security terminal with her bags intact and her beloved katana, Red Sun strapped to her back.

"Well that was just plain vile, I can see why the other kingdoms have a bee in their bonnet about Atlas." Still; the red-headed young woman's mood couldn't stay bleak for long as she stepped onto the fairgrounds, absorbing the sights and sounds of the Vytal Festival as well as the individuals involved in it. She figured that her Captain would be somewhere among this mass of people and felt her heart skip a beat in anticipation of their reunion.

 _"Just you wait Vytal Festival, Sundown and Moonlight are finally gonna be on the same battlefield..and we're gonna blow your minds!"_

 _ **I have nothing to say at this point**_


End file.
